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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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THE 



SINNER'S ERIEND. 



THE DISEASE OF SIN, ITS CONSEQUENCES, AND 
THE REMEDY. 



'Who comes this way, "behold, and fear to sin!" 

Course op Time. 



BY THE AUTHOR OP THE " PLEASANT WAY." 



Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and revised 
by the Committee of Publication. 




MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository, 13 Cornhill. 

1845. 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, 
By CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts, 




GO 



CO 



DESIGN OF THIS BOOK. 



When we open a book, it is natural for us, in 
the first place, to inquire into its design. The 
design of the little volume now before you is 
simple, and may be explained in one sentence. 
It is intended to make the reader acquainted 
with sin, — its nature, its consequences in this 
life, and its punishment in the world to come ; 
and also to point out the way to escape from its 
dominion. Like the word of God itself, the 
prominent themes here introduced are sin and 
salvation; and the evils of the one are employed 
to induce the acceptance of the other. 

It is unnecessary that any thing should here 
be said as to the importance of these subjects; 
but the defective and superficial views which 
even adult persons frequently entertain of them, 
show that they are not sufficiently attended to. 



IV DESIGN OF THIS BOOK. 

Before those who fall into these mistaken 
notions can be brought into the fold of Christ, 
their error must be exposed, and the light 
permitted to shine into their hearts. They 
must understand what sin is, and realize deeply 
that it is an evil and a bitter thing, before they 
can rightly discern the way of salvation, and 
feel the importance of a change of heart. The 
disease must be known, before the remedy can 
be applied or appreciated. 

To the youth in our Sabbath schools, espec- 
ially those more advanced in years, I send forth 
this book, hoping that it will not only assist 
them in estimating the depravity of their hearts, 
and understanding the dreadful penalty of sin, 
but that it will also aid them in coming to Christ 
for salvation; and to them it is committed with 
greater pleasure, from the fact that it may be 
said to have originated in the Sabbath school; 
as the subject was suggested to the writer, a 
year or two since, by one of the lessons of a 
Bible class with which he was connected. 
That it may be kindly received, and faithfully 
read, and 'become the humble means of good to 
many youth, is the earnest desire of 

The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



L SIN AND THE SINNER. 

CHAPTER I. page. 
Sin the transgression of the Law, ...» - 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Man is a Sinner, - 20 

CHAPTER III. 
Dominion of Sin, --------37 



II. CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 

CHAPTER I. 
Sin deprives us of God's Approbation, - - - - 57 

CHAPTER II. ' 
Sin provokes the Wrath of God, - - - - - 67 

CHAPTER III. 
Sin exposes us to Satan's Influence, - - - - 80 

CHAPTER IV. 
Sin awakens Remorse of Conscience, - - - - 94 

CHAPTER V. 

Sin awakens Fear of Detection and Punishment, - -110 

CHAPTER VI. 
Sin produces Shame, and loss of Self-respect, - - 122 

CHAPTER VII. 
Sin injures the Conscience, 129 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. page. 
Sin hardens the Heart ; 140 

CHAPTER IX. 

Sin debases the Mind, ------- 155 

CHAPTER X. 

Sin degrading and brutalizing, 175 

CHAPTER XL 

Sin the Parent of all Physical Evil, - 189 

CHAPTER XII. 
Sin often followed by Special Judgments, - 200 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Sin the Parent of Death, ------ 214 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Sin punished after Death, ------ 230 

CHAPTER XV. 
Reflections on the Results of Sin, 246 



III. THE SINNER SAVED. 
' CHAPTER I. 

Sin never will cure itself, ------ 267 

CHAPTER II. 
Christ the Sinner's Saviour, ------ 284 

CHAPTER III. 

Method of Salvation, 299 

CHAPTER IV. 
Directions for the Sinner, 317 

CHAPTER V. 
Sin subdued, and the Curse removed, - - - - 337 

CHAPTER VI. 
Conclusion, ---------35 



I. 

SIN AND THE SINNER. 



REMARKS. 



Before we examine into the consequences of sin, 
there are one or two things which need to be under- 
stood. First, we must have a correct idea of what 
sin is ; and then we must know how far we ourselves 
are sinners before God, and whether our guilt is 
slight and unimportant, or deep and serious. The 
three following chapters are intended to give the 
true definition of sin, and to prove and illustrate the 
fact that all men are sinners, 



SIN AND THE SINNEK. 



CHAPTER I. 

SIN, THE TRANSGRESSION OE THE LAW. 

Universality of law — Natural laws must be obeyed, or the 
penalty suffered — The moral law 3 its wisdom, holiness, 
justice, and glorious perfection — Its vast importance 
learned from its penalty — Man's efforts to destroy its 
penalty — Sin, the transgression of this law — Disobedience 
of the fallen angels, and of our first parents — The aggrava- 
ted nature of sin — Its tendency to destroy all good — The 
two families — But one kind of sin — Appeal to the reader. 

It is one of the wonderful perfections of 
God, that every material object in the uni- 
verse, so far as man can discern, is governed 
by firm and unalterable laws. The rolling 
of a planet in its course, and the falling of a 
leaf to the ground, — the shining of the sun, 
and the opening of a flower, — the heaving of 
the waves of the ocean, and the trembling of 
1 



10 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 

a spear of v grass, are all the effects of estab- 
lished laws, under the control of the Almighty. 
The dominion of law is universal and eternal ; 
her throne was established ere the oldest star 

began to shine, or the first angel sang the 
© * © © 

Creator's praise.** To use the language of 
Dr. Hooker, " Her seat is the bosom of God, 
her voice the harmony of the world ; all 
things in heaven and earth do her homage, 

O ©7 

the very least as feeling her care, and the 
very greatest as not exempted from her 
power : both angels and men, and creatures 
of what condition soever, though each in 
different sort and manner, yet all, with uni- 
form consent, admiring her as the mother of 
their peace and joy." 

The natural laws, — by which are meant 
those which relate to matter, — doubtless 
extend to all parts of the universe ; nor can 
any power set them aside, without the per- 
mission of him who ordained them. The 
great and the small, the high and the low, 
all submit to them. The sun, for instance, 
while it directs and controls numerous other 
smaller bodies, itself owns a greater law, and 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 11 

obeys. As to those laws which relate more 
directly to ourselves, we all know that it is 
impossible to break them, without suffering 
in consequence. If you throw yourself from 
a high precipice, you will receive an injury, 
and, perhaps, lose your life. And why? 
Because you disregard the law of gravitation, 
which causes all bodies, not supported, to 
fall to the earth. So, if you break any of 
the laws of your nature, you must bear the 
penalty. Nearly all our bodily suffering may 
be traced to some violation of these laws. 

But the Creator has established another 
and far more important law than any of these, 
to govern mind, which he has wisely adapted 
to his intelligent creatures. Like a faithful 
parent, who governs his household by wise 
regulations, God has ordained one perfect 
law, and by it every mortal being must stand 
or fall. This law is divided into two parts, 
and expressed by our Saviour in the following 
words : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. 
This is the first commandment. And the 



12 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself." Mark 12: 30, 31. 
This law is expressed more in detail in the 
ten commandments, but it is still the same; 
and in the history of our Saviour we have a 
perfect exhibition of it, in real life. He " did 
no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." 
1 Peter 2 : 22. 

Like all the other laws of God, this law 
deserves as well as demands obedience. It 
was ordained by a wise and holy Being, and 
it therefore possesses both wisdom and holi- 
ness. "The law of the Lord is perfect, . . . 
the statutes of the Lord are right." Ps. 19: 
7, 8. It is a just and reasonable law. God 
asks only for the love and obedience of his 
creatures ; and is not this reasonable ? It is 
a glorious law, honoring God, and exhibiting 
his infinite perfection to all the universe. It 
is a blessed law, conferring unmingled happi- 
ness on all who obey it ; " and in keeping of 
it there is great reward." Ps. 19: 11. 
And it is a universal law, enjoined upon 
every reasonable soul. What more can be 
desired ? Of what earthly law can all this 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 13 

be said ? The laws of a single nation, or 
state, or city, occupy hundreds of pages, and 
can be read but by comparatively few ; but 
God's law is comprised in a sentence, and is 
found written upon the heart of every indi- 
vidual, except where sin has mutilated or 
obliterated it. Human laws need to be fre- 
quently revised and amended, and after all, 
do not fully answer their object ; but the law 
of God can never be improved, or become 
unnecessary and useless. 

Think, too, of the vast importance of this 
law. It is of no trifling or ordinary value, to 
be broken with impunity. There is attached 
to it a dreadful penalty, to be suffered by the 
disobedient, which can teach us its import- 
ance in the sight of God more than any thing 
else. This penalty is eternal banishment 
from the presence of Jehovah, and all holy 
beings, and confinement in wo, and darkness, 
and despair. This is not merely the punish- 
ment of repeated and desperate transgressions, 
but of each and every sinner, who has violated 
this law in the least. "For whosoever shall 

keep the whole law, and yet offend in one 
i # 



14 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 

point, he is guilty of all." James 2: 10. 
See, then, its importance; for God would 
not guard it with such a penalty as this, if it 
were not of the utmost consequence to the 
universe. 

Some, I know, attempt to destroy its pen- 
alty, and seem to imagine that no account 
will ever be required of them. But such 
have fallen into a frightful error. What right 
has sinful man to alter the law of God? 
Who has appointed him to revise and correct 
it ? If our government should send its code 
of criminal laws to the State prison, to be 
revised and interpreted, it would, doubtless, 
be treated in the same manner that certain 
classes have treated the law of God. All 
the penalties would be stricken out, or else 
each statute would be accompanied with 
explanations so ingenious and sophistical, that 
every one of them might be violated with 
impunity. But, though men may mutilate 
the holy law of God, yet the Judge himself 
shall one day vindicate it before the universe, 
and cause every soul to own the justice of its 
penalty. 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 15 

Such is a faint view of the perfection of 
the moral law of God. And now, if my 
readers can form any adequate idea of its 
holiness, its justice, and its importance, or of 
the exalted character of that Being who is its 
author and defender, they will be able to 
obtain a comparatively just conception of sin. 
" For sin is the s transgression of the law." 
1 John 3 : 4. There were once spirits in 
heaven, ages long since past, who, in an evil 
moment, ventured to trample upon this law ; 
but offended Justice quickly hurled the rebels 
from their lofty spheres, and they have ever 
since wandered in darkness and chains. Our 
first parents also attacked it ; and no sooner 
had they done so, than sorrow, pain and 
death were declared to be the lot of both 
themselves and their posterity, as we shall 
see in the succeeding chapter. This is sin, 
and nothing more or less. It is direct rebel- 
lion against God. He who wilfully breaks 
the laws of his sovereign is called a rebel and 
an enemy. The child who sets at nought 
the laws of his parents is not less a rebel. 
How much more, then, is he who breaks the 



16 THE SINNER ? S FRIEND. 

laws of that Being who is both our king and 
our Father ! Every sin he commits is an act 
of rebellion. Every transgression of the law 
is a blow aimed at the empire of God. 
What high-handed rebellion would it be. 
were a subject to tear in pieces the laws of his 
sovereign before his face, and cast them from 
him ! Yet this is, in effect, what every sinner 
does before his Creator. And if given up to 
the full dominion of his rebellious feelings, he 
would heartily wish and rejoice to dethrone 
Jehovah, and exalt some malignant spirit 
over his boundless dominions, if. indeed, any 
one would be permitted to rule the rest. 
The tendency of sin is to destroy all good. 
As the law is the guardian of even' thins: 
good, sin must be the enemy of all good. 
We say, therefore, that sin, if unrestrained, 
would destroy every thing in creation that is 
fair, and lovely, and holy. More than this, 
it would introduce anarchy where all is now 
quietness and order; terror, where all is 
peace and joy : and numberless and nameless 
evils, where now nothing but holiness and 
happiness are known. Look at an illustra- 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 17 

tion. Here is a Christian family, where 
strict obedience is enforced to the commands 
of the parents, and that obedience is cheer- 
fully and affectionately rendered by the chil- 
dren. What a happy family ! All is peace, 
and harmony, and love. And how is that 
father honored because of his children ! But 
there is another family, where there is no 
law, and no discipline, or where the children 
transgress the commands of their parents with 
impunity. What an unhappy sight ! There 
is contention, and wrangling, and unhappi- 
ness, and but little, if any, real love. Those 
parents are dishonored in their children. 

So with the law of God. Wherever it is 
obeyed, all is order, and peace, and joy, and 
love. God is honored in the keeping of his 
law ; but when it is broken, there can be no 
true happiness, nor love, nor union. God is 
dishonored by his rebelling children. 

But the question may here be asked, Is 
there not more than one kind of sin ? Is all 
sin transgression of the law, and deserving of 
endless death ? I have before me a Roman 
Catholic catechism, recently published in this 



18 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 

city, which speaks of two kinds of sin ; one 
mortal, "which kills the soul, and deserves 
hell;" the other venial, " which does not kill 
the soul, yet displeases God." This is a 
strange distinction. I have found nothing 
like it in the Bible. That book teaches that 
there is but one kind of sin, — the transgression 
of the moral law, whether by deed, word or 
thought ; and the Papists, doubtless, fell into 
their error by forgetting that God looks upon 
the heart, as well as the outward conduct. 
How absurd the thought, that the law may 
be so broken as to displease God, and yet its 
penalty not be incurred ! True, the spirit of 
human laws may sometimes be broken, while 
the letter is obeyed, and the offender may 
escape punishment. But not so with God's 
law. That requires holiness of heart, as well 
as outward service ; and it is impossible to 
break the spirit of it, without also breaking 
the letter. 

Do not, then, my reader, esteem sin as of 
little consequence. It is a great, a terrible 
evil ; or, as I should say, it is the great evil, 
for there is no other. Every action, every 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 19 

word, yes, and every thought, that is contrary 
to the law of God, should awaken our fears, 
and call forth our hatred. It is sin, — that 
evil and bitter thing, that deadly disease, that 
blighting curse, that fatal destroyer. Sin ! 
what a tale of wo and evil that one word 
unfolds! What bitter recollections and 
mournful feelings it awakens in our minds ! 
What fearful forebodings of the future does it 
stir up within us, if our souls have never 
been washed from the guilty stain ! 



20 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



CHAPTER II. 

MAN IS A SINNER. 

The petrified forests — Evidences of a change in them — 
Petrifaction of the human heart — Supposed visit of an 
angel to earth — His disappointment and surprise — The 
mystery solved — Sin the cause of our present state — Man 
created holy — His obedience to the law ; and happiness — 
A test given — His fall and ruin — How we are affected by 
the fall of Adam — Sin never yet been banished from the 
world — Its curse felt by every individual — Picture of man 
from the Bible — First chapter of Romans — Other passages 
— Testimony of ancient saints — Of Christ and the early 
Christians — JNot a sinless man mentioned in the Bible. 

Travellers in Egypt, in exploring that 
interesting land, have discovered, in different 
places, several large forests of trees, which 
have undergone the process of petrifaction, 
or been changed from wood to stone. In 
some places, they tell us, may be seen valleys 
of sand, extending over hundreds of acres, 
thickly strewn with prostrate trees, no longer 
clothed with green foliage, but converted into 
solid stone. Now, suppose one of us should 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 21 

suddenly find himself in one of these strange 
forests, without having had any previous 
knowledge of their existence, or of the process 
by which wood is converted to stone. His 
first surprise beginning to subside, he exam- 
ines carefully the branches, trunks, roots and 
bark, but they are all stone. " Can it be 
that they grew so ? " he inquires. After 
farther examination, and a little reflection, he 
finds ample proof that there has been a great 
change wrought in the forest, at an unknown 
point of time, and is satisfied that these trees 
once possessed the common properties and 
nature of all other trees. He now begins to 
inquire into the cause of this transformation, 
the time it occurred, &c. 

Equally certain is it that man was not 
originally created as he is now. He, too, 
has undergone a process, resembling that 
described above, which, to use the expressive 
figure of Scripture, has changed his heart 
from flesh to stone. "Yea," saith the 
prophet, "they made their hearts as an 
adamant stone" Zech. 7: 12. Where now 
is the love that dwelt in his heart, when it 
2 



22 the signer's friend. 

beat in sympathy with all holy beings? 
Alas, hatred has supplanted it, — hatred to 
God, and to holiness. Where is the pure 
benevolence that pervaded his soul in its 
sinlessness, and shed its fragrance all around 
him? Base selfishness has usurped its place, 
and filled the earth with wretchedness and 
sorrow. Where, too, is the heavenly peace 
that reigned in his bosom? Alas, discord 
and confusion have long revelled in its place. 
And where is the joy and blessedness that lit 
up his countenance with smiles, and sprang 
from a heart at peace with God ? In vain 
we seek it now ; for unhappiness, and rest- 
lessness, and care, are the portion of man. 
All is changed ; and the stony heart, the sel- 
fish passions, the depraved appetites, are but 
so many witnesses to this sad truth. Indeed, 
there can be no more doubt of this, than that 
the petrified forests of Egypt have been 
transformed from their original state ; and if 
any one denies this change, he is not less 
foolish and mistaken than if he should contend 
that those trees grew stone, and always were 
stone. 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 23 

We who are so well accustomed to our 
present fallen state, and so little acquainted 
with the condition of holy beings, can hardly 
appreciate the greatness of the change man 
has suffered. We know from experience 
what sin is, but of holiness we are compara- 
tively ignorant; and, therefore, our present 
state is not to us so striking a proof of a for- 
mer change as it otherwise would be. But 
let us endeavor to imagine, for a few moments, 
how man's present condition would appear 
to a holy being, who had never before wit- 
nessed the blighting effects of sin. Suppose 
an inhabitant of one of those distant worlds, 
which a clear evening reveals, should wander 
to our globe. With curious eye he gazes 
downward, as he approaches, and with a 
heart burning with love to God, he joyfully 
anticipates mingling his song of praise with 
that of his new acquaintances. But as he 
alights from his long journey, what a chill 
comes over him ! We will imagine that he 
has descended in the vicinity of a battle-field, 
where contending hosts are marshalled for 
the contest. As death and destruction are 



24 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



dealt out with a mighty hand, and the wave 
of devastation is rolled over quiet villages, 
and fruitful fields, and pleasant valleys, what 
consternation is seen in his looks ! With 
haste he speeds away, beyond the shout of 
battle, or the roar of cannon. But what 
meets he now ? A prison ! Its frowning 
walls, and gloomy dungeons, and sickly, 
morose and wretched inmates, strike terror to 
the wanderer, and he is seen there no more. 
Now behold him at the couch of pain and 
wo, and now in the very presence of death, 
in some one of his terrible forms. How does 
he shrink from the sight ! 66 O," he exclaims, 
" who shall tell me the meaning of this ? I 
have seen many of the noble creations of 
God, but never conceived of one like this. 
Here is a world of beauty, like my own home, 
with a bright sky, and a glorious sun ; but 
instead of my own native songs of praise, I 
hear groans, and sighs, and words of hatred. 
Can it be that God made this world as I 
now behold it? or has it been visited by 
some malign spirit, who has seduced its 
inhabitants, and given them death and wo as 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 25 

their portion ? " Would the wondering stran- 
ger long seek an answer to these questions ? 
Doubtless he would not. He would soon 
discover that this world was not created as it 
is now, and that man is not what he was 
originally designed to be. 

I therefore repeat it, we are certain that a 
momentous change has taken place in this 
world, which has converted man from a 
happy being to an unhappy one. But what 
is this change, and what produced it ? Why 
is it that ills of every kind surround and 
envelop us ? Does all this happen without a 
cause? Certainly not. "As the bird by 
wandering, and the swallow by flying, so the 
curse causeless shall not come." Prov. 
26 : 2. There must be a grand cause for 
the evil and misery we find in the world; 
and that cause is sin. " Lo, this only have I 
found, that God hath made man upright; 
but they have sought out many inventions." 
Eccl. 7: 29. Here the mystery is unravelled. 
Man has broken the law of God; and no 
wonder that he is exposed to so many ills. 
2* 



26 the sinner's friend. 

We learn from the Bible, that man was 
created in the image of God ; that is, he was 
endowed with faculties and attributes that 
made him resemble, though faintly, his great 
Creator, and rendered him reasonable, ac- 
countable and immortal. Some, I know, 
have pretended to believe that man is an 
exalted order of the brute creation, rather 
than a fallen image of God. But all who 
believe the Bible, are satisfied that man was 
created upright and happy ; and many others, 
on whom the light of revelation never shone, 
have also taught the same truth. Says an 
inspired writer, "Thou madest him a little 
lower than the angels ; thou crownedst him 
with glory and honor, and didst set him over 
the works of thy hand." Heb. 2: 7. The 
moral law, spoken of in the previous chapter, 
was given to him, though not in a written 
form, as we now have it. It was enstamped 
upon his heart, as it is upon the hearts of holy 
angels. He needed no teacher to tell him 
that he must love the Lord with all his heart, 
for he knew this, the moment he came into 
existence. With his first breath he began to 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 



27 



obey this great law. Then he was holy and 
happy, and every blessing was his. In the 
language of Hesiod, an ancient heathen wri- 
ter, " The fruits of the earth sprang up spon- 
taneously; peace reigned; her companions 
were happiness and pleasure; disease and 
death were unknown." Happy Adam ! 
Himself bore the image of his glorious Crea- 
tor, and his home was a paradise. What 
needed he to make him blessed ? 

But Adam, though innocent, was not yet 
confirmed in holiness. He was created up- 
right, but was not compelled to be either 
sinful or holy. His Maker, in the language 
of Milton, 

" made him just and right, 
Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall." 

He must, therefore, be put upon probation. 
So the Lord determined to give him a test, 
or trial, by which it might be for ever decided 
whether he would stand or fall. This test 
was a simple command not to eat of a certain 
tree. How easy to pass through the trial 
unharmed! No great work was demanded, 



28 



THE SINNER ? S FRIEND. 



no painful sacrifice was required; he was 
only directed to abstain from one kind of 
fruit, while every thing else his appetite 
could desire was freely offered him. But he 
disobeyed that one command, — he fell, — and 
Satan's foul design was accomplished. A 
curse upon the tempter and upon the earth 
ensued, and the unhappy pair, with their 
posterity, were doomed to a life of toil and 
sorrow, and finally to death. The gate of 
their beautiful paradise was closed upon 
them, and they left it, never again to behold 
its pleasant groves, its fragrant bowers, or its 
sparkling waters. 

Thus, at one blow, was shattered, and well 
nigh ruined, the delicate lyre, which, tuned 
by the finger of God. once sweetly vibrated 
to every breath of the divine Spirit. Like 
the famous Egyptian statue, which always 
greeted the rising sun with melodious sounds, 
these happy souls once responded in strains 
of love and praise to every ray of wisdom, 
power and goodness which emanated from 
the great Sun of righteousness. 
"But short, alas, the song that sings their bliss ! " 



SIN AND THE SINNER 29 

Now, only jarring notes of discord and sorrow 
were heard. Then began they to realize the 
curse of sin, though in their case the Lord, 
" pitying while he judged," was pleased to 
mingle with it many mercies. 

Such, reader, was the fall of man, and the 
introduction of sin into our world. True, 
these events took place almost six thousand 
years ago. Yet we ought to feel a deep 
interest in them, for they have exerted a vast 
influence upon our destiny. Since the dread- 
ful day of Adam's fall, sin has stalked through 
the earth, carrying with it an endless train of 
evil and misery. It must needs be that we 
experience these evils, for Adam was our 
father, and we inherit his corrupt nature, as 
well as his mental and physical powers. He 
is compared, by Irenaeus, to " one who, being 
incarcerated, propagates a race in prison." 
But, though this comparison is substantially 
correct, yet God, in great kindness, has left 
us many pleasant, sunny places, that remind 
us of ancient Eden, rather than a dungeon ; 
and has conferred upon us many other noble 
gifts and privileges, that ally us to angels, 



30 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



rather than to the chained spirits of the 
prison-house. Still, he never ceases to remind 
us that sin has been here, and is here now. 
There is truth in that couplet : 

" Some flowerets of Eden ye still inherit, 
But the trail of the serpent is over them all." 

The blighting effects of sin meet us at every 
step, and compel us to acknowledge that we 
belong to " a crooked and perverse genera- 
tion." This curse has reached every individ- 
ual of our race. True, there is such a vast 
difference in mankind, that one would hardly 
imagine they all' sprang from one parent. 
Some are exalted to fill thrones, and sway 
sceptres over half the world, and others are 
born in servitude ; some are gifted with 
remarkable talents, and others discover but 
little mental energy ; some, who have never 
done a day's work, are burdened with riches, 
while others are the hard-worked children of 
hopeless poverty ; some have constitutions of 
iron firmness, and others are so weak and 
helpless, that, even before they go hence, 
they are counted as dead ; — but, for all these 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 31 

differences, there is one thing in which each 
resembles his fellow, — all are sinners. The 
honorable and the mean, the wise and the 
ignorant, the rich and the poor, the strong 
and the weak, all, all are sinners, and all 
bear the curse of sin. All, therefore, de- 
scended from the same apostate father, and 
inherit the same corrupt nature. 

We will now look into the Bible, and see 
what farther knowledge we can obtain of the 
dreadful character of sin. Let the reader 
turn to the last part of the first chapter of 
Romans. Here you will find a most vivid 
picture of the depravity of the natural heart, 
when unrestrained by the' grace of God. 
And so true a one is it, that it is said to 
excite the astonishment of the heathen, when 
it is first presented to them. They are great- 
ly surprised to read so accurate a description 
of their own sinfulness and degradation ; and 
in some places, they have thought that this 
chapter must have been written by the mis- 
sionaries, after they came to their country, 
and saw the wickedness of paganism. Their 
consciences convicted them, and thus con^ 



32 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



firmed the inspired word. In the chapter I 
have referred to, Paul describes the Gentiles 
as "being; filled with all unrighteousness, 
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malic- 
iousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, 
malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of 
God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of 
evil things, disobedient to parents, without 
understanding, covenant breakers, without 
natural affections, implacable, unmerciful ; 
who, knowing the judgment of God, that 
they which commit such things are worthy of 
death, not only do the same, but have pleas- 
ure in them that do them." What a dark 
view is this of the unfathomed malignity of 
sin, when it has full possession of the human 
heart ! Who, after reading the above verses, 
will wonder that God abhors it, and regards 
it as no trifling evil ? 

But there are numerous other passages, in 
every part of the Bible., that testify to this 
same truth. Job is supposed to have lived 
in a very early age of the world ; and he 
describes the wicked men of his day as say- 
ing to their Maker, "Depart from us; for we 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 33 

desire not the knowledge of thy ways." Job 
21: 14. And one who was contemporary 
with him, confirms this, saying, "What is 
man, that he should be clean ? and he which 
is born of a woman, that he should be right- 
eous? Behold, he putteth no trust in his 
saints ; yea, the heavens are not clean in his 
sight. How much more abominable and 
filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like 
water!" Job 15: 14-16. David says of 
the whole race of man, " They are all gone 
aside, they are altogether become filthy ; there 
is none that doeth good, no, not one." Ps. 
14 : 3. Even God's favored people became 
so degraded and dreadfully perverse, that 
they not only forsook the altar and temple of 
Jehovah, but " sacrificed their sons and their 
daughters," — to whom ? — u unto devils" 
Ps. 106: 37. Says the prophet, "The 
heart is deceitful above all things, and des- 
perately wicked." Jer. 17: 9. This is the 
only instance in the Bible where the adverb 
" desperately " is used, — a word which has, 
perhaps, a fuller and more comprehensive 
meaning than we are apt to give it. The 
3 



34 



THE SINNERS FRIEND. 



heart is madly, furiously, hopelessly wicked, 
and treacherous, artful and fraudulent above 
all things. Who can know the extent of its 
iniquity ? 

But while these holy men of old describe 
others as being sinners, they never flatter 
themselves with the self-righteous thought 
that they are. by nature, better than others. 
David was a very pious man : but he says of 
himself, "Mine iniquities have taken hold 
upon me. so that I am not able to look up ; 
they are more than the hairs of my head ; 
therefore my heart faileth me." Ps. 40: 12. 
So Daniel was an excellent man, beloved of 
God: but he confessed,. "'We have sinned, 
and have committed iniquity, and have done 
wickedly, and have rebelled. O Lord, right- 
eousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us 
confusion of faces.'' Dan. 9: 5, 7. Isaiah 
was one of the excellent of the earth ; but he 
says, "'We are all as an unclean thing, and 
all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags ; and 
we do fade as the leaf; and our iniquities, 
like the wind, have taken us away.*' Isaiah 
84 : 6. And so the faithful Jeremiah con- 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 



35 



fessed himself a sinner, when he said, " We 
have sinned against the Lord our God, we 
and our fathers, from our youth even unto 
this day, and have not obeyed the voice of 
the Lord our God." Jer. 3 : 25. Solomon, 
too, discovered the same truth, and asks, 
" Who can say, I have made my heart clean, 
I am free from my sin ? " Pro v. 20 : 9. 
He found no one who could respond to this 
challenge, and he therefore boldly declares, 
that " there is not a just man upon earth, that 
doeth good and sinneth not." Eccl. 7: 20. 

In later times our Saviour affirmed, that 
from the heart of man " proceed evil thoughts, 
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false 
witness, blasphemies." Matt. 15: 19. One 
who received his religious instruction directly 
from him, has also said, " If we say that we 
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the 
truth is not in us." 1 John 1 : 8. The 
apostle Paul, writing to the church in Ephe- 
sus, speaks of himself, and them also, as 
having been once by nature the children of 
wrath." And Barnabas, an early convert to 
Christianity, and the devoted companion of 



36 the sinner's friend. 



Paul, adds weight to the same testimony, by 
saying, " Before we believed, the habitation 
of our hearts was full of corruption and sin ; 
filled with idolatry, and a dwelling-place of 
demons." 

I might thus multiply, almost without limit, 
quotations from the Bible, and the wisest and 
best men who have ever lived, to illustrate 
the depth of man's depravity. The Bible 
itself embraces a period of history extending 
through more than four thousand years ; and 
it introduces to us a vast number of charac- 
ters. But among them all, we do not find 
one who was not a sinner, with the exception 
of our Saviour. Had there been one else 
perfect, so remarkable a fact would surely 
have been noticed. 

In the following chapter, this subject will 
be pursued still farther. 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 



37 



CHAPTER III. 

DOMINION OF SIN. 

The sculptor — No moral perfection in this world — The 
sinner often shuts his eyes to this truth—Illustrations of 
feeble views of sin — The mistake removed in eternity, or 
on the death -bed— Another self-righteous class — Anecdote 
of Dr. Hopkins — Danger of this class — Their mistake 
accounted for — The subjection of sin a difficult work — 
Sins of omission not to be forgotten — Guilt cannot always 
be concealed — A request — Children are sinners — Their 
corrupt nature — Tendency of their hearts to evil — A con- 
fession — Our sin voluntary, and exceedingly aggravated — 
Dreadful nature of sin — A serpent in the soul — Object of 
the writer — His encouragement — His wish. 

A renowned sculptor once declared, that 
he never saw a person whose features and 
form were, in all respects, a model of perfec- 
tion. Hence, in making a cast or statue, he 
selected several individuals, and copied the 
face of one, the neck of another, the shoulders 
of another, &c; and, thus uniting in one 
figure all that was beautiful in each, he was 
able to form a model surpassing in beauty 
3* 



38 the sinner's friend. 

and grace any single work of nature. In the 
truth here developed, there seems to be some 
resemblance to the moral imperfection of 
men. It is, doubtless, true that there is not 
a perfect man on earth, whether we apply 
the remark to the inner or the outer man. 
But as some, who have very imperfect ideas 
of what constitutes perfection, would deny 
the assertion of the sculptor alluded to, so 
there are others, with still more superficial 
ideas, who deny that there is no moral per- 
fection, and contend that some attain to 
sinlessness in this life. Though there is 
nothing more evident to reason and common 
sense than the simple proposition at the head 
of our last chapter, " Man is a sinner," yet it 
is difficult to convince them of this truth. It 
is an unwelcome truth, and they do not wish 
to meet it. It has always been thus. Christ 
and his apostles found it one of the most 
difficult of all their labors, to convince the 
world that they needed a Saviour. Though 
the mass of mankind then, as now, were 
poor, and miserable, and destitute of all true 
riches, yet they thought themselves rich, and 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 



39 



wanting nothing. It was insulting to the 
proud Jew, and folly to the polished Greek, 
and mad fanaticism to the idolatrous Roman, 
to point them to one who shed his blood for 
the remission of their sins. They needed no 
such Saviour as this ; their lengthy rituals, 
and garlanded altars, and solemn rites, were 
sufficient for them. So is it with the pagan 
world at the present day. They do not and 
will not think themselves lost; if they did, 
Christ would be eagerly sought among them. 

But why go so far for an illustration ? Are 
there not those in Christian lands who have 
fallen into the same lamentable error? Ah, 
yes, among the vast phalanx of fallen, guilty, 
unpardoned men around us, who are pressing 
onward to another world, there are hosts of 
self-complacent, undisturbed souls, who see 
no necessity of a change of heart, and who 
vainly think to work out their own salvation, 
not with "fear and trembling," but with pride 
and boasting, to the exclusion of the cross of 
Christ. 

" Lulled in a soft and fatal sleep, 
They sin, and yet rejoice." 



40 the sinner's friend. 

This strange infatuation often clings to its 
victim through a long life. But O, how 
dreadful it is to be deceived by a false hope 
of heaven, till the soul has entered into the 
presence of its Maker, and then, in the daz- 
zling light of eternity, finds itself poor, and 
miserable, and lost ; — like one who has been 
prematurely buried, and, while dreaming that 
he is in paradise, suddenly awakes from his 
trance, and finds the shroud of death wrapped 
around his body, and the earth-worm crawling 
upon him, and the cold damp of the grave 
chilling his life-blood. He may make a des- 
perate struggle to free himself, but his feeble 
efforts avail nothing, and the earth sinks down 
upon him, till it crushes the last breath from 
his body, and the last hope from his soul. 

Sometimes this delusion is removed on the 
death-bed, and the miserable soul feels its 
need of the blood of Christ, for the first time, 
while quivering on the outer verge of life. 
But alas, it is, we fear, generally too late to 
apply the remedy. 

Besides the class I have described, there 
are others, who, practising many virtues and 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 41 

observing the outward duties of religion, 
think they have at length attained to perfec- 
tion, and can move through the world without 
being led into sin. But these also are mis- 
taken, for there is no perfection here. Even 
those who walk nearest to their Saviour, and 
present before us the purest and holiest lives ? 
are the first to feel their own utter sinfulness, 
and to sigh, 

" How oft, alas, this wretched heart 
Has wandered from the Lord ! 
How oft my roving thoughts depart, 
Forgetful of his word.'' 

The late Dr. Samuel Hopkins, having 
always maintained an irreproachable moral 
character, was received into the church in his 
native town, without having experienced a 
change of heart. He was then a member of 
Yale College, and maintained the habit of 
daily reading the Scriptures, and of secret 
prayer. So apparently holy and blameless 
was his life, that he writes of himself, respect- 
ing his evening devotions, " When I thought 
of confessing the sins that I had been guilty 



42 the sinner's friend. 

of that day, and asking for pardon, I could 
not recollect that I had committed one." 
But a year or two after this, during a revival 
under the preaching of Rev. Gilbert Tennent, 
he discovered the entire depravity of his 
heart, and all his fancied righteousness at 
once departed. He saw his vileness in the 
sight of God, and hastened to the " fountain 
filled with blood," where he was purified and 
made a new man. From his writings, it 
would appear that he never afterwards expe- 
rienced that peculiar difficulty in his devotions, 
though he was illustrious for his heavenly 
temper, and the purity of his life. 

How many others have fallen into the 
same snare ! By concealing the depravity 
of their hearts, or throwing over them the 
flimsy veil of their own righteousness, they at 
length begin to think themselves perfect, or, 
at least, not far from perfection. Their debt 
of ten thousand talents suddenly becomes but 
a few farthings, and this they calculate soon 
to pay. But let such persons bear in mind 
the old adage, "A fault concealed is a fault 
doubled." He is the most hopeless sinner 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 43 

who not only hides his guilt from himself and 
his neighbors, but at the same time pretends 
to great piety. Said Flavel, " To have no 
holiness is bad enough ; but to pretend to it, 
when we have it not, is double impiety." 

Augustine, an ancient Christian, said, "A 
man does not feel the chain when he volun- 
tarily follows him who leads him by it ; but 
when he begins to resist, and go the other 
way, then he suffers, — the chain tightens and 
suffers violence." Here we see the reason 
why the self-righteous sinner is offended when 
told that his heart is desperately wicked. 
He is following the chain with which Satan 
leads him ; and, till he attempts to go the 
other way, he can have no idea of the 
strength of sin, or of the power it has over 
his soul. I believe no impenitent sinner 
knows how difficult is the work of him who 
sincerely strives to subdue his sins. The 
writer well remembers his own feelings before 
he was led to test the strength of sin. In 
looking upon professors of religion, he thought 
he saw many blemishes in their characters, 
and was somewhat astonished at the sight ; 



44 the sinner's friend. 

and he then resolved that when he became a 
Christian, he would be a thorough one, and 
set a purer example, than many around him 
did. Alas, he knew but little, then, of the 
depravity of his own heart ; nor was it until 
he set out in earnest to begin the new life, 
that he found how hard it was to stem the 
current of sin. Truly there is a meaning in 
that passage, "Can the Ethiopian change his 
skin, or the leopard his spots ? then may ye 
also do good, that are accustomed to do 
evil." Jer. 13: 23. 

One difficulty with us all is this ; in meas- 
uring our depravity, we are apt to look only 
for flagrant sins of commission, and entirely 
overlook those of omission. This is a great 
mistake. God does not overlook them. You 
have all read the solemn account of the last 
judgment, as given by Christ himself, in the 
twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew ; but did 
you ever notice, that those on whom the 
Lord pronounces the fearful sentence, "De- 
part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire/' are condemned solely on the ground of 
sins of omission ? " Ye gave me no meat, — 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 45 

ye gave me no drink, — ye took me not in,— 
ye clothed me not, — ye visited me not, 55 says 
Christ ; " and these shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment. 55 No comment need be 
made upon this. 

It is beyond a doubt, then, that a perfect 
man exists not on earth. Be the life ever so 
pure and blameless, yet in the heart there is 
something wrong. Sin lurks there, even 
when not seen outwardly. It tarnishes the 
fairest virtues even of the best of men, and 
embitters their sweetest cup. But its effects 
upon the unrepenting sinner are far worse. 
He cannot for ever conceal the corruption 
that corrodes his soul. "As a fountain cast- 
eth out her waters, 55 so the heart "casteth 
out her wickedness. 55 Jer. 6 : 7. His sin is 
"written with a pen of iron, and with the 
point of a diamond. 55 Jer. 17: 1. And 
unless it is acknowledged and condemned by 
the sinner, and blotted out by the blood of 
Christ, it will remain graven on the heart for 
ever. Reader, have you any doubt of this ? 
Does this language appear to you too strong 
and sweeping ? I ask you, then, to look at 
4 



46 the sinner's friend. 

your heart, and candidly examine it. Do 
this faithfully, and you need not go into soci- 
ety to know mankind, for you have seen the 
world. "As in water face answereth to face, 
so the heart of man to man." Prov. 27: 19. 

In what has been said on the depravity of 
our race, I have spoken only of men, as 
adults. But I would leave the impression 
on no mind that children are not sinners. 
Every child that comes into this world, brings 
with him a sinful heart, which, so soon as it 
is developed, will prove a stock of evil, 
from whence will spring many bitter fruits. 
Though he cannot be guilty of actual trans- 
gression till he is capable of understanding 
what is meant by right and wrong, yet he is 
not holy. You may find many lovely traits 
in the character of a little child, before he 
has become defiled by intercourse with bad 
companions ; but there is no holiness there. 
He does not love God, and in time, even 
were no bad influence exerted upon him, he 
will show the strength of sin in his heart, anq 1 
proclaim by his conduct that he has 

" No relish for the joys of heaven, 
No dread of endless misery." 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 47 

But suppose you go farther than this, and 
not only remove bad influences, but place 
the child under the purest and holiest that 
earth ever knew. Will this save him ? No, 
for he will not fail soon to discover the per- 
verseness of his heart. This is a truth full of 
solemnity to us, as it places our depravity in 
a most serious light, and plainly shows us its 
strength and obstinacy. But some do not 
believe it. They declare that children are 
not corrupt by nature, and therefore that they 
need no conversion. They tell us that the 
infant soul will unfold itself as naturally and 
regularly as does the bud, and that the parent 
and teacher need only apply the light and 
heat, at the same time warding off the blights 
of sin, to bring it to the highest perfection. 
But will this bear the test of experiment ? 
Where is the child, who has reached six or 
eight years, and showed no disposition to 
prefer evil to good ? I fear it would be diffi- 
cult to find such an one. We are told that 
the Lord once " looked down from heaven 
upon the children of men, to see if there 
were any that did understand, and seek 



48 the sinner's friend. 

God/' but he found none, no, not one. Ps. 
14 : 2, 3. Moreover, the Bible declares that 
" foolishness is bound in the heart of a child ; " 
Prov. 22: 15; that "they go astray as soon 
as they be bom, speaking lies ; " Ps. 58 : 3 ; 
and Paul says, that " all have sinned, and 
come short of the glory of God." Rom. 
3 : 23. Does this encourage the opinion 
that children are pure, innocent, and free 
from corruption, and need only genial influ- 
ences to develop their minds, and fit them for 
the church, without experiencing a gracious 
change ? If such is the state of things at the 
present day, it certainly was not in the days 
of David and Paul. 

But it is useless to deny or attempt to 
conceal our guilt, even if we are young. As 
well might the leper think to hide the plague 
spots on his face. We are sinners. Though 
God made us, we have not honored him ; and 
though he has blessed us with mercies more 
numerous than our sins, yet we have not 
loved him. "Ye have said, it is vain to 
serve God." Mai. 3: 14. We are beset 
with temptations on every hand, and pollution 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 49 

enters our souls through the eye, the ear, the 
taste and the touch. And let it never be 
forgotten that our sin is voluntary. We are 
not compelled to do wrong. "When the 
apostle had sketched that awful picture of 
the Gentile world, contained in Rom. 1, he 
wrote over it, 6 Without excuse." 5 How 
much more is this true of us ! 

How great, then, is our guilt ! And espec- 
ially how awful does it appear, when we 
remember the redeeming love of him who 
was " wounded for our transgressions, and 
bruised for our iniquities." The Jews who 
imbrued their hands in his blood, knew they 
were taking the life of an innocent person, 
and violating the laws of God and man ; but 
alas, they knew not what they did, — they 
suspected not the tremendous guilt involved 
in that one act. So might it be truly said of 
each one of us who indulges in known sin, — 
he knows not what he does. We indeed 
know that we are sinning against God, and 
conscience may condemn us ; but O, how 
little do we know of the dreadful nature of 
that sin ! We rebel against our heavenly 
4" 



50 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



Father. — we crucify the Son of God afresh. 
— we slay the Lord of the vineyard ; and in 
our blindness and depravity we know it not, 
we believe it not, but regard our sin as too 
trifling for the serious notice of our Creator. 

Need I tell you, then, young reader, that 
sin should awaken the utmost anxiety? 
True, its developments may now be feeble in 
your heart, and you may see no great reason 
for alarm. But there is abundant cause for 
alarm. "It is not the outward spot,* 5 says 
Andrew Fuller, " that will kill you, but the 
inward disease, whence it proceeds." The 
outward indications of the disease of your 
soul may now be few ; but will you deceive 
yourself with the thought that for this reason, 
you are in no danger 9 

Yes, you ought to feel. How would it 
startle you to be informed that you carried 
within you a living reptile, which you had 
unwittingly swallowed in a glass of water, 
when it was too small for your eye to detect 
it. And as it grew, and increased, and 
gnawed a place for itself within your own 
vitals, and there intercepted the food you 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 



51 



took to nourish your body, thus prostrating 
your health, and subjecting you to violent 
spasms of agony, what terrible apprehensions 
would it awaken ! But, my impenitent friend, 
there is a more dangerous and deadly serpent 
than this within you, — not tormenting your 
mortal body, but preying upon your immortal 
soul. That serpent, I need not tell you, is 
sin. It was once small and feeble, but every 
year of your life it has increased in strength, 
feeding, as it were, upon every thing good 
and noble within your soul. O, this is the 
worm whose merciless tooth gnaws through 
all eternity. Could you see the fearful rav- 
ages it has already made upon your soul, 
what horror and anxiety would the sight 
awaken ! Could you look on that polluted 
soul as holy angels look upon it, or see its 
deformity as God does, and realize the dan- 
ger to which you have exposed it, what 
bitter lamentations of wo would burst from 
your lips, and how would you plead and 
agonize at the foot of the cross, day and 
night, till you felt your pardon sealed, and 
your condemnation removed. 



52 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



But such a view as this you can never 
obtain in the present world. It is my design, 
however, to bring you as near to it as possi- 
ble, by portraying the evil consequences of 
sin, here and in eternity. I shall aim to 
represent faithfully the dark deformity of sin, 
and to hold up to your view, as in a sunbeam, 
the dreadful misery which it is capable of 
inflicting upon each one of us, if we do not 
forsake it. And especially am I encouraged 
in my task, by the thought that I am address- 
ing the young, — those who know but little, 
experimentally, of the evils of sin. There is 
not a class of people on earth to whom this 
subject is so peculiarly adapted as to them. 
They may derive more profit from it than 
others possibly can. Then, dear reader, as you 
follow me through these pages, and trace the 
consequences of sin, and the final ruin of the 
sinner, will you not determine to profit by 
the lesson, and abandon a course so fraught 
with danger and death? O, that you might 
now be made wise unto salvation, and thus 
escape many of the dreadful punishments of 
sin here spoken of. 



SIN AND THE SINNER. 53 

These pages will, doubtless, fall into the 
hands of some who are already becoming 
enchanted by the tempting fruits which sin 
holds out, to allure them from the paths of 
peace. If so, may they now realize that 
" their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of 
the fields of Gomorrah ; their grapes are 
grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter ; their 
wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel 
venom of asps." Deut. 32: 32,33. And 
if any are already entangled in the meshes of 
Satan, and are conscious that their feet tread 
a forbidden path, may they hear a voice in 
these pages, saying to them, "Know, there- 
fore, and see that it is an evil thing and 
bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy 
God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith 
the Lord God of hosts." Jer. 2: 19. 



II. 

CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 



REMARKS. 

Having learned what sin is, and seen that man is 
a sinner, we are now ready to inquire into the evil 
consequences and punishments which sin brings with 
it. We shall have abundant illustration of the truth, 
" Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity." Hos. 14 : 1. 
And we shall see that sin and misery, however distant 
and unconnected they sometimes appear, are always 
bound together by indissoluble chains. They never 
have been, and never can be long separated. 

I would bespeak the reader's earnest attention to 
these chapters, because, though it may not be an 
inviting theme, yet it is one of vast importance, and 
one which may be highly useful, if rightly improved. 



CONSEQUENCES OE SIN. 



CHAPTER I. 

SIN DEPRIVES US OE GOD'S APPROBATION. 

Love of approbation natural to man — Inconceivable value of 
God's approbation — Sin deprives us of it — Scripture proofs 
— This implies loss of communion with him — Loss of 
sympathy — Loss of the approbation of all good beings — 
The deserted dwelling — Man alone responsible for the 
loss of God ? s favor. 

Love of approbation is a strong ingredient 
in our nature, and a great principle in God's 
government of man. Pleasure or pain is 
always imparted (until we have reached a 
certain degree in guilt) in accordance with 
the approbation or disapprobation in which 
we are held by the wise and virtuous. Who 
does not like to be justly commended by the 
good ? and who does not dread to lose their 
approbation, by doing wrong? He who 
5 



58 the sinner's friend. 

cares not for the opinion of such, must be far 
advanced in the road to ruin. The wiser, 
the holier, or the more distinguished an indi- 
vidual is, the more is his approval sought for 
and prized ; and were the holy angels occa- 
sionally to appear among us, in visible forms, 
their affection and good-will would be es- 
teemed above rubies, at least by the more 
thoughtful and religious. 

But there is a Being, infinitely above these 
in holiness and glory, the value of whose 
approbation is not to be computed by gold 
and precious gems, or even by worlds. It is 
above all price. The approbation of God, — 
who can comprehend the full weight of bliss 
and unspeakable glory which those words 
imply ? We must all confess that we cannot 
grasp the thought. The favor of God is the 
summing up of all the happiness, and glory, 
and honor of which a created being is capable. 
And this is heaven. This divine approbation 
is the inheritance of the angels of light ; it is 
the unalterable charter by which they will 
for ever hold the blessings they now enjoy. 
It was, likewise, the glorious birth-right of 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 59 

our first ancestor. As he walked through 
Eden, in the cool of the day, feasting his 
senses with the numberless gifts of his Crea- 
tor, and communing with him as a man 
converseth with his friend, he began to feel 
the bliss of such a connection. But alas ! sin 
came and blasted it all. The moment he 
transgressed, this inestimable boon was no 
longer his ; and as the flaming sword was 
unsheathed at the gate of paradise, he began 
to realize, in some measure, the fearful evil 
he had encountered. He then lost the appro- 
bation of his Maker; and we, my readers, 
have experienced the same loss, in a similar 
way. That we may realize this truth more 
deeply, I have collected a few of the many 
passages of Scripture which teach it. 

" Thou art of purer eyes than to behold 
sin, and canst not look on iniquity." Hab. 
1: 13. God is represented as so holy, that, 
to use a bold figure, he cannot even look 
upon sin, or endure the sight of it. How, 
then, can he look with complacency upon 
the sinner? "But your iniquities have sepa- 
rated between you and your God, and your 



60 the sinner's friend. 

sins have hid his face from you that he will 
not hear." Is. 59: 2. " Because ye have 
forsaken the Lord, he hath forsaken you." 
2 Chron. 24: 20. Here we are directly 
taught that we have lost the approbation of 
God. " For the wickedness of their doings, 

1 will drive them out of my house, and I will 
love them no more." Hos. 9: 15. " Who- 
soever hath sinned against me, him will I 
blot out of my book." Ex. 32: 33. "I will 
hide my face from them, and I will see what 
their end shall be." Deut. 32: 20. "The 
Lord is far from the wicked." Prov. 15: 29. 
"If ye forsake him, he will forsake you." 

2 Chron. 15: 2. 

These are but a few of the passages which 
teach us that we have lost the approval of 
God by our sins. But perhaps we do not 
apprehend the extent of this loss, from read- 
ing these verses ; and that we may not remain 
in ignorance, let us examine it more closely, 
and see what it includes. 

First, in losing the approbation and love of 
God, we lose communion with him. What 
would you do, were you told that after to-day 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 61 

you were to be cut off for ever from all 
communion with the dearest earthly friend 
you have, — a mother, a father, a brother or 
a sister ? What sorrow would such a thought 
strike to your soul ! But have you ever 
mourned that you have lost the communion 
of God ? Have you ever wept that your 
sins have separated between you and him, so 
that you cannot come to him for advice and 
instruction ? I know that God, in his mercy, 
has been pleased to remove this evil, in a 
great degree, by opening a way of access to 
him, through Christ, and by giving us in his 
word all needful counsel and admonition. 
What love for ruined man does this display ! 
But, reader, have these kind provisions of 
God been of any use to you ? Are you not 
still shut off from all communion with him ? 
Does he ever counsel and advise you 1 If 
you have never repented of sin, you can only 
answer, " No, I have no communion or fel- 
lowship with my Maker, and as to his coun- 
sels and advice, I have never troubled myself 
to find out what they are." And this is the 

fruit of your sin. I need not seek examples 
5 # 



62 the sinner's friend. 

from others, to make you understand this 
subject. Your own sins have debarred you 
from the communion of God, and shut your 
soul up to take counsel of itself, or of others 
equally liable to err. "As troubled water," 
says Boston, "is unfit to receive the image of 
the sun, so the heart filled with impure and 
disorderly affections, is not fit for divine com- 
munications." This is the state of your 
hearts. And how often have you suffered in 
consequence of it ! Perhaps you have never 
thought of it in this light ; but do you not 
now see, that if you had sought direction from 
God, and enjoyed communion with him, you 
would have been saved many a sad fall, and 
many a severe pain ? 

You should also remember, that in parting 
with the approbation of God, you lost, in a 
degree, his sympathy. True, he still cares 
for you, and blesses you with an untiring 
hand ; but in your sorrows you cannot go to 
him for consolation and sympathy. Like 
every other sinner, you greatly need these 
blessings ; but you have shut yourself out 
from them. His love is an overflowing 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 63 

stream ; but you cannot drink of it, till you 
consent to part with your sins. Should 
storms of adversity overtake you, you have 
no refuge to shield you. Should troubles rise 
around you, you have no arm on which to 
lean. You are unprepared for the trials of 
life. You have, as it were, shut yourself up 
in a dark prison, to escape the presence of 
him who alone can befriend you in your hour 
of distress. 

" No balm that earthly plants distil 

Can soothe the mourner's smart ; 
No mortal hand, with lenient skill, 

Bind up the broken heart. 
But One alone, who reigns above , 

Our wo to joy can turn, 
And light the lamp of joy and love, 

That long has ceased to burn." 

Thus every sinner, by losing the approval 
of God, also loses his sympathy, in a great 
degree, and is left to his own cold heart, or a 
still colder world, for comfort and support in 
every trial. 

In losing the favor of God, you should 
remember that you have also lost the favor 



64 the sinner's friend. 

of all good beings. Angels are full of love, 
but they cannot regard you with approbation, 
however much they may pity you. The 
spirits of just men made perfect are full of 
love, but their holy affection kindles not for 
you. If God does not approve and commend 
you, they cannot. In consequence of the 
plan of mercy, they earnestly desire to see 
you redeemed from sin : they feel a deep 
interest in your welfare. But if you contemn 
God, and reject his mercy, these holy beings 
will rise to condemn you at the last day. 
The children of God on earth, it is true, may 
and ought to love you, while here, that, if 
possible, they may save your soul. But as 
you go on in sin, and stop your ears to their 
warnings, and harden your heart, their love 
must wax fainter and fainter ; and at last, if 
God shall give you up to your sins, the love 
of every good being will be for ever with- 
drawn. " Yea," says God to every sinner, 
"wo also to them when I depart from 
them!" Hos. 9: 12. 

I have thus endeavored to show you what 
it is to be forsaken of God, or to lose his love 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 65 

and favor. The sinner, thus left to himself, 
is indeed a mournful sight. He resembles 
some deserted building, in a solitary desert, 
once the abode of grandeur and wealth, but 
whose ruins are now the lurking places of 
offensive reptiles, and the shelter of the mop- 
ing owl and bat. The glory has departed. 
"It is not so much," said Flavel, "to see all 
the stars in heaven overcast, as to see one 
sun eclipsed." No, nor is it so great a 
calamity to lose the friendship of all created 
beings, as to be deprived of the favor of God. 

" Thou bounteous Giver of all good, 
Thou art of all thy gifts thyself the crown ! 
Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor, 
And with thee rich, take what thou wilt away." 

We see, then, that it is wholly our own 
fault, if we are shut out from the blessings of 
God's favor. His bounty is always abundant. 
Every thing in nature proves this. His 
mercy is "shed on us abundantly, 55 and 
nothing but sin can cut us off from it. He 
ever follows us in our wayward course, crying 
out, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? 



66 the sinner's friend. 

how shall I deliver thee, Israel ? how shall I 
make thee as Admah ? how shall I set thee 
as Zeboim ? My heart is turned within me, 
my repentings are kindled together." Hos. 
11: 8. Even after we have long resisted 
him, if we will at last repent in sincerity, he 
will " abundantly pardon." We can only 
blame ourselves, then, if we finally lose the 
blessing of him whose favor is life everlasting. 



C ONSE Q,UENCE S 



O F 

i 



SIN. 



67 



CHAPTER II. 

SIN PROVOKES THE WKATH OE GOD. 

God will not let sinners alone — Meaning of the phrase, 
"wrath of God" — The terror of his wrath is greatly in- 
creased by his power — Figurative language — Consuming 
fire — The arrow — The sinner left in darkness — Drinking 
the cup of wrath — Illustrations from the Bible — No escape 
from this wrath — Application of the subject — The turning 
point of the incorrigible — The justice and mercy of God 
reconciled. 

In the last chapter., we looked upon the 
sinner as losing the approbation of God ; and 
we saw that this was a dreadful evil. But 
this is only the beginning of his punishment. 
God does not, after he has withdrawn his 
favor and affection, leave him to himself, to 
go on as he pleases, and cease to notice his 
conduct. In this case, it would be the same 
to him as if there were no God. Though 
sinners always desire that the Lord would let 
them alone, yet he will not do this. He "is 
angry with the wicked every day." Ps. 7: 



68 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



11. He beholds every sin they commit; he 
even knows every sin they desire to commit, 
or that enters their thoughts. His hot dis- 
pleasure is kindled against them for their evil 
deeds, and he warns them of an approaching 
doom, in language that ought to awaken their 
deepest fears. As they wander away from 
him, he pursues them, crying out, " Wo unto 
them ! for they have fled from me ; destruc- 
tion unto them ! because they have trans- 
gressed against me." Hos. 7: 13. On every 
side the voice is echoed, " Wo unto the wick- 
ed ! it shall be ill with him ; for the reward 
of his hands shall be given him." Is. 3 : 11. 

Every part of the Bible has much to say 
about the wrath of God. This is the burden 
of many of its chapters, and the principal 
theme of some of its entire books ; for God 
has sent his servants into the world, from 
time to time, to proclaim his displeasure 
against sin, and warn the people of judgments 
to come. But in reading these passages, we 
should always remember that the wrath of 
God is not like the wrath of man. When 
we see a man angry, we generally think him 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 69 

guilty of doing wrong. We are taught that 
this is a sinful emotion ; and so it is, at least 
in most instances. But when we read that 
God is angry, we should form no such con- 
ception of it as this. His is a righteous 
anger. It is a holy indignation against sin, 
— that thing which he abhors ; and nothing 
but sin can ever awaken it. It is not such 
anger as the heathen have ascribed to their 
gods, which is in reality malice, and can be 
appeased by the blood of its victim, or by 
costly gifts. We shall see that the wrath of 
God against sin is entirely unlike the wrath 
of any fabulous heathen deity. It is a right- 
eous wrath ; and on this account, it is most 
terrible to the wicked. 

When we consider the power of God, we 
see the chief reason why his wrath is so 
terrible. A fellow-being may be greatly dis- 
pleased with us, and yet be unable to injure 
us. The wrath of such is but little feared. 
Others have power to inflict evil upon us ; 
and they are feared in proportion to this 
power. Were you living within the domin- 
ions of a despotic king, you would dread to 
6 



70 the sinner's friend. 

excite his displeasure. "The king's wrath 
is as the roaring of a lion ; but his favor is as 
dew upon the grass." Prov. 19: 12. His 
favor, therefore, you would desire to possess. 
But if you fear the anger of an earthly being, 
who has power to inflict pain or death upon 
your body, should you not fear much more to 
kindle the wrath of him who is able to destroy 
both soul and body? Remember, too, that 
his wrath will not come empty and alone. 
"To me," he says, "belongeth vengeance 
and recompense." Deut. 32 : 35. He has 
the power, and he will punish the sinner who 
hardens himself against him. He has declared 
that "their sorrows shall be multiplied that 
hasten after another god." Ps. 16: 4. 

In speaking of the wrath of God, the 
sacred writers sometimes use bold and strik- 
ing figures to illustrate their meaning. When 
Moses warned the ancient people of God 
against sin, he said unto them, "The Lord 
thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous 
God." Deut. 4: 24. He also told the 
same people, when speaking of the idolatrous 
nations which they were to drive out from 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 71 

the promised land, that " as a consuming fire 
the Lord would destroy them." Paul uses 
the same vivid figure, when he says, "For 
our God is a consuming fire." Heb. 12: 29. 
What an idea of the terror of the wrath of 
God do these expressions convey ! God 
himself, the joy and delight of the holy, is a 
" consuming fire" to the wicked, and his 
wrath must burn against them for ever, with 
increasing strength, if they finally reject his 
mercy. 

The arrow was sometimes used to repre- 
sent the terror of the wrath of God. " I will 
heap mischiefs upon them ; I will spend mine 
arrows upon them." Deut. 32: 23. The 
arrow was one of the most important weapons 
of ancient warfare ; and it was often a terrible 
•one, especially when dipped in poison, or 
made to carry fire. But if the arrows which 
man hurls against his enemy are such dan- 
gerous things, what must be the arrows of 
the Almighty's wrath ? Besides, it says, " I 
will spend mine arrows upon them." The 
soldier always carried a quiver filled with 
these weapons, that he might be well supplied 



72 the sinner's friend. 

in the battle ; and when he had spent or 
exhausted all these, we may suppose he had 
wounded or slain not a few of his enemies. 
But who can number the arrows of the 
Almighty ? None, for his quiver is inexhaus- 
tible, and his " arrows go forth as the light- 
ning." When his ano;er is aroused, he will 
never want means and opportunities to rebuke 
and punish the guilty. At any moment, he 
can compel the sinner to cry out with pain, 
" The arrows of the Almighty are within me, 
the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit ; 
the terrors of God do set themselves in array 
against me." Job 6: 4. 

When God deals with the sinner in his 
wrath, he is sometimes said to take away his 
light. This is also a strong figurative ex- 
pression ; and if we look at it closely, we 
shall see that it is full of meaning. " How 
oft," said Job, "is the candle of the wicked 
put out ? " Job 21: 17. " Yea, the light of 
the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of 
his fire shall not shine." Job 18: 5. "They 
meet with darkness in the day-time, and grope 
in the noonday as in the night." Job 5: 14. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 73 

" The candle of the wicked shall be put out.' 5 
Prov. 24 : 20. If any of my readers have 
ever endeavored to conceive what this world 
would be, were the sun and moon extin- 
guished, and the stars blotted out, and dark- 
ness permitted to reign over the earth, then 
they can see the force of these figurative 
expressions. The sinner, under the wrath of 
God, is left in a perpetual moral night. The 
bright beams of the Sun of righteousness are 
withdrawn from his path, and even the taper 
light or " candle " in his own bosom is extin- 
guished. The effects of this upon his mind 
and heart are somewhat analogous to what 
would be experienced in the natural world, 
were darkness to cover the earth. 

By another figurative expression, the wick- 
ed are said to drink of the wrath of God. 
"He shall drink of the wrath of the Al- 
mighty." Job 21: 20. "In the hand of 
the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red ; 
it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of 
the same ; but the dregs thereof, all the 
wicked of the earth shall wring them out, 
and drink them." Ps. 75: 8. "The same 
6* 



74 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out without mixture into the 
cup of his indignation." Rev. 14: 10. Thus 
the sinner is compelled to swallow the dread- 
ful draught and the bitter dregs of the cup of 
indignation, which God has prepared for those 
who will not serve him. As he "drinketh 
iniquity like water" when left to himself, so 
God shall at last compel him to drain the 
cup of his wrath. 

Such are some of the representations of 
the anger of God, with which the Bible 
abounds. To illustrate these, many exam- 
ples are given on the sacred page. We 
there read of the angels who "kept not their 
first estate," and against whom the wrath of 
God has never ceased to burn ; of the ante- 
diluvians, who perished in their sins ; of the 
guilty cities of the plain, upon which the fiery 
judgments of God descended ; of oppressive 
Egypt, against whom the wrath of the Lord 
was revealed in dreadful plagues ; of the 
numerous trials with which the same right- 
eous hand visited backsliding Israel ; and of 
the overwhelming desolation which he poured 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 75 

out upon the nations of antiquity who dishon- 
ored him and oppressed his people. Doubt- 
less my readers are familiar with these, and I 
need, therefore, only allude to them here. 
The history of man, in every age, teaches us 
that solemn truth, " God distributeth sorrows 
in his anger." Job 21: 17. Even in unin- 
spired history, the Christian can discern the 
hand of God pouring out his wrath upon 
guilty nations, and overwhelming them with 
desolation and ruin. Neither Jew nor Gen- 
tile, neither Christian nor pagan, can escape 
it, but by obedience to God and his laws. 
It descends alike upon the great and the 
small, the rich and the poor. " Neither their 
silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver 
them in the day of the Lord's wrath. 55 
Zeph. 1: 18. "For they have sown the 
wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. 55 
Hos. 8 : 7. Men have sometimes endeavored 
to frustrate the purposes of God, and avert 
the strokes of his justice ; but their mightiest 
efforts have been but the casting of a pebble 
before his chariot wheels. Their shafts fall 
as harmless as the arrows which the African 



76 the sinner's friend. 

savage shoots at the lightning to arrest its 
terrible flashes. Neither can the sinner stand 
before the anger of God, and brave its fury, 
as he may the wrath of a fellow-man. How 
shall man contend with God? Though a 
nation rise up against him. one breath can 
overthrow them in destruction. Yea, though 
a world revolt, and join in perfect union to 
oppose his will, he need but open the windows 
of heaven to overwhelm them in a deluge. 
"Who can stand before his indignation? and 
who can abide in the fierceness of his anger ? " 
Na. 1: 6. " Can thine heart endure, or can 
thine hands be strong, in the day that I shall 
deal with thee ? I the Lord hath spoken it, 
and will do it." Eze. 22: 14. 

Youthful reader ! is God angry with you ? 
If you are impenitent, you have every reason 
to suppose that he is, though, in his mercy, 
he may delay awhile any visible manifestation 
of his displeasure. "He that believeth not 
is condemned already." John 3 : 18. "The 
wrath or God abideth on him." John 
8 : 36. Think of this a moment. If you 
are a condemned sinner, under sentence of 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 77 

eternal death, and yet refusing pardon, can 
God be otherwise than angry with you? 
Think what it is to be under the wrath of 
the Almighty. If it is so melancholy a thing 
to lose his approbation, how dreadful must it 
be to add to this the weight of his righteous 
displeasure ! O, beware how you trifle with 
such a fearful curse. " Because there is 
wrath, beware lest he take thee away with 
his stroke ; then a great ransom cannot deliver 
thee." Job 36: 18. Weigh well the matter, 
before you decide to go on in so dangerous a 
path. "Who hath hardened himself against 
him, and hath prospered ? " Job 9 : 4. Then 
why will you try the vain experiment ? 

The Bible teaches us that the sinner may 
reach a point, even in this life, when he will 
be beyond the reach of mercy, and nothing 
but wrath be reserved for him, in this world 
or the world to come. " Therefore," says 
the Lord, " will I also deal in fury ; mine 
eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity ; 
and though they cry in mine ears with a loud 
voice, yet will I not hear them." Eze. 8 : 18. 
Their prayers will then find no gracious ear 



78 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



to listen to them. Even the intercessions of 
those who have power with God can do them 
no good. God's ancient people reached a 
point in sin, when he declared, " Though 
Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my 
mind could not be toward this people." Jer. 
15: 1. Every sinner may, if he choose, 
reach this same point. When he has done 
this, there will be no escape from the wrath 
of God. It will pursue him to the grave, — 
it will terrify him in his passage through the 
valley of the shadow of death, — it will fasten 
upon him, never more to be removed, in the 
world of wo. God has declared this. "A 
fire is kindled in my anger, and shall burn 
unto the lowest hell." Deut. 32 : 22. 

Some may think that this view contradicts 
the doctrine of the love and mercy of God. 
It does not. The divine wrath is nothing 
more nor less than supreme love and benevo- 
lence punishing guilt, and executing justice. 
This is the doctrine of the Bible ; and they 
who invest the Deity with a character differ- 
ing from this, misrepresent and dishonor him. 
God is merciful, but he is not all mercy ; he 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 79 

is just and holy. He has mercy for the pen- 
itent, and wrath for the incorrigible. It is 
contrary even to our views of justice, to show 
mercy to a criminal who remains stubborn 
and hardened, and exhibits no signs of sorrow 
for his crimes, but rather a disposition to 
repeat them ; and shall God bestow forgive- 
ness on such ? His mercy is ever ready for 
the penitent. When he was about to over- 
whelm Nineveh with ruin, he suffered his 
will to be changed, and laid by all his wrath 
against that city, because the people repent- 
ed. And is his mercy less now than it was 
then? Certainly not. " Behold, the Lord's 
hand is not shortened, that it cannot save ; 
neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." 
Is. 59: 1. He is still our Father, though 
we have turned against him ; and the first 
token of penitence he beholds in the wayward 
prodigal moves his compassion, and his arms 
are extended to welcome the lost one home. 
O, that we were as anxious to avoid his 
anger as he is to have us, and as ready to 
accept his mercy as he is to bestow it ! 



80 the sinner's friend. 



CHAPTER III. 

SIN EXPOSES US TO SATAN'S INFLUENCE. 

History of Satan — His character — He is the sinner's master 
— No serving two masters — The sinner peculiarly exposed 
to his influence — Partnership with Satan — Anecdote of 
George White — Twelve scriptural names and titles of 
Satan — His character summed up — His achievements — 
The fall — The crucifixion — Havoc among some of the 
early professed Christians — Satan's power over true Chris- 
tians greatly restricted — God on their side — But one step 
from the narrow way to Satan's grounds — His treatment 
of his captives — His power great, though not irresistible 
— Conclusion. 

We come now to another of the appalling 
consequences of our sin, and one which grows 
out of the two we have just considered. 
There is in this world a fallen spirit, called 
Satan, whom God permits, for a season, to 
have great power over the children of men. 
He was once an angel of light ; but having 
rebelled against God, he was cast out,— 

" Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky, 
With hideous ruin and combustion, down 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 81 



To bottomless perdition, there to dwell 
In adamantine chains and penal fire, 
Who durst defy the Omnipotent to arms." 

Still, he retains much of the exalted intellect 
and mighty power which he possessed when 
holy, though both are now entirely perverted 
to the basest and most malignant ends. He 
arrays himself against God, in this world, has 
established a kingdom of his own, and devotes 
all his energies and wisdom to rob the Al- 
mighty of his rightful authority, and secure 
to himself the allegiance of the earth. And 
this, reader, is the master whom every one 
must serve, who casts off the authority of 
God. Every human being, the Bible informs 
us, must be united either to the kingdom of 
God or the kingdom of Satan. There is not 
a soul on earth who is not in the service of 
one of these powers. Nor, it should be 
added, is there . one who ever has served 
them both, at the same time, or in alternate 
succession. The soldier who should engage 
his services to two contending generals, would 
lose his life, were his conduct known to either 
party. When General Arnold made propos- 
7 



82 the sinner's friend. 

als to the British commander to betray an 
American fortress into his hands, he became 
a traitor, and was disowned by his country- 
men. His name was stamped with infamy, 
even in the estimation of those whose favor 
he hoped to secure by this base act. And 
why ? Simply because the world despise a 
man who would serve two masters, and betray 
one for the benefit of the other. Yet this is 
the way in which some men endeavor to 
serve God and Satan. But, fortunately, they 
cannot conceal their base hypocrisy from the 
eyes of the Almighty. He detects their 
fraud, and, in his view, all such are as truly 
the children of the devil as those who ridicule 
religion, or deny the existence of a Supreme 
Being. 

It is evident, therefore, that the sinner is 
naturally the servant of Satan. God has 
withdrawn his approbation from him, and his 
wrath has begun to kindle against him. And 
now, still further to punish his sin, God deliv- 
ers him over to the great adversary of souls, 
and permits him to be peculiarly exposed to 
his wicked influences. If snares are spread 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 83 

for the foolish, he is one of the first to fall 
into them. If tempting baits are held out to 
allure the simple, he is ever ready to grasp 
them, and swallow the fatal hook. If the 
adversary invents new and great temptations, 
he is quickly led into them, to the destruction 
or sad injury of his soul. "As the fishes that 
are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that 
are caught in the snare, so are the sons of 
men snared in an evil time, when it falleth 
suddenly upon them." Eccl. 9: 12. Satan 
becomes the sinner's teacher and accomplice 
in wickedness. They both work together, 
and pursue the same end ; and this some are 
willing to acknowledge. It is related of 
George White, a notorious thief, that when 
arraigned for horse-stealing, it was supposed 
he was connected with an extensive gang, 
who were laying contributions upon all the 
stables round about. Many inducements 
were held out to White to reveal the names 
of his associates, but in vain. An assurance 
from the Court was at last obtained that he 
should be discharged, upon his taking oath to 
reveal all he then knew of his accomplices. 



84 the sinner's friend. 

The jury were accordingly suffered to bring- 
in a verdict of "not guilty/' when he was 
called upon for the promised revelations. " I 
shall be faithful to my word/' said he ; u un- 
derstand, then, that the devil is the only 
accomplice I ever had ; and we have been a 
great while in partnership." A frank confes- 
sion ; and it may afford a subject of profitable 
reflection to the reader. 

This Satanic influence over the sinner 
increases as he goes on in sin, and God's 
care for him diminishes. The chains by 
which he is led are strengthened, and the 
fetters made tighter. Happy for him if he is 
not speedily led captive to the world of wo ! 

If we would fully understand what a ca- 
lamity it is to be thus given up to the influ- 
ence of the evil one, we must have some 
definite idea of his malignant character. That 
the reader may obtain this, I have collected 
from the Bible a number of his names and 
titles, which convey much instruction in a 
few words. 

1. Satan. This is a Hebrew word, signi- 
fying enemy: so that the proper name of this 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 85 

being exactly expresses his character. He 
is the great enemy of God and man. 

2. Devil, This name comes from the 
Greek word diabolos, which means, one who 
accuses or calumniates. John, in his vision, 
heard a loud voice, saying, "Now is come 
salvation and strength, and the kingdom of 
our God, and the power of his Christ ; for 
the accuser of our brethren is cast down, 
which accused them before our God day and 
night." Rev. 12: 10. This passage refers 
to Satan, the great accuser. 

3. Beelzebub. This was originally the 
name of a famous heathen god, who is sup- 
posed to have been one of the chief divinities 
of some of the ancient nations. As the Jews 
considered all heathen gods devils, this name 
was appropriately applied to Satan, the chief 
or prince of devils. 

4. Belial. This is a Hebrew word, mean- 
ing literally, " a wicked, headstrong man;" 
and in the Old Testament, lewd, profligate 
and vile persons are called " sons of Belial." 
When applied to Satan, it means the prince 

of licentiousness and corruption. 
7# 



86 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



5. Abaddon and Ap oily on. The first of 
these names is a Hebrew word, and the last 
a Greek one, both of which mean, "the 
destroyer." This title is eminently appro- 
priate to Satan, who, as a roaring lion, goeth 
about seeking whom he may devour. 

6. The Dragon, and the Serpent. Satan 
is spoken of in John's Revelation as the great 
dragon and the old serpent. The former 
name is borrowed from a formidable animal, 
mentioned several times in the Old Testa- 
ment ; and the latter is doubtless an allusion 
to the serpent who beguiled Eve. 

7. Angel of the bottomless pit. In this 
title, reference is made to Satan as the king 
of hell. 

8. The Enemy, and the Adversary. These 
names are descriptive of his bitter hostility to 
God and man. 

9. The Prince of devils. Satan is called 
the prince of devils, and "the prince of the 
power of the air," in allusion to his power 
over other fallen spirits, associated with him. 

10. The Prince and God of this world. 
These titles convey to our minds some idea 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 87 



of the power which Satan is permitted to 
wield on earth. He is not only the angel of 
the abyss, but he is the prince of this world, 
and the god of this world. 

11. The Tempter. He is thus called, in 
allusion to the temptations which he is always 
spreading in the way of men. 

12. The Wicked One. This epithet is 
several times applied to Satan in the New 
Testament. 

Such are the principal names and titles by 
which Satan is known in the Bible;* and 
with what a hideous character do they invest 
him ! We are told that he was a sinner from 
the beginning ; and not only this, but a liar, 
a deceiver and a murderer. He is the great 
parent of all that is evil, — the patron of every 
abomination and vice, — the leader in all sin 
and rebellion. We see, then, why it is that 
" he that committeth sin is of the devil ; for 
the devil sinned from the beginning.' 3 1 John 

* It is not uncommon to hear the name " Lucifer 7; applied 
to Satan ? and many suppose it is so used in the Bible. This 
is a mistake. The word occurs but once in the Scriptures 
(Is. 14: 12), and then it evidently refers to the king of 
Babylon, and indicates his glory as the chief of princes. 



88 the sinner's friend. 

3 : 8. And we see why Jesus, in rebuking 
some unbelieving Jews, told them that their 
father was the devil. John 8: 44. Those 
who are not the children of God are the 
children of Satan. 

We may still enlarge our knowledge of 
Satan's character, by glancing at a few facts 
in history, which illustrate this subject. 

The fall of man was the grand achievement 
of Satan in this world. He instigated and 
beguiled Eve to break the command of God, 
and thus was the prime mover in that rebel- 
lion. What dark malignity must reign in a 
heart that would be guilty of such an act, 
and bring sorrow, despair and death into the 
happy paradise of earth ! What foul malice, 
what fiendish hatred, what cold-blooded ma- 
levolence must have prompted the murderous 
deed ! And precisely such, at the present 
time, is the character of the wily serpent, 
unless, indeed, he has advanced in depravity 
during the past six thousand years, which is 
not improbable. 

The crucifixion of our Saviour was another 
event in which Satan was deeply engaged. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 89 

He entered into the heart of Judas Iscariot, 
and moved him to betray his Lord. And 
why ? what evil had he done ? Ah, it was 
because he had done no evil, that Satan thus 
raged against him. But his wrath, in this 
instance, was in vain, and only served to 
accomplish God's designs of mercy. 

Soon after this, we find him among the 
professed followers of Christ, endeavoring to 
seduce them from their Master. Sometimes 
he was successful. Paul, even in his day, 
was compelled to own that " some are already 
turned aside after Satan." 1 Tim. 5: 15. He 
tells us of two such, whom he had " delivered 
unto Satan ; " their names, as you will recol- 
lect, were Hymeneus and Alexander. There 
were two other professed disciples mentioned 
in the fifth chapter of Acts, whom the great 
adversary instigated to lie to the Holy Ghost. 
I need not tell you of the speedy judgment 
which overtook them. I suppose there were 
others, in those times, whom Satan led cap- 
tive; for the great apostle seems to have 
foreseen this, when he wrote to Timothy, 
"Some shall depart from the faith, giving 



90 the sinner's friend. 

heed to seducing spirits, and the doctrines of 
devils." 1 Tim. 4:1. Nor has Satan been 
idle since that time. The pages of history, 
as well as the scenes now enacting before our 
eyes, are so many witnesses to the continued 
zeal and malice of the adversary. As in old 
times, so now, like a roaring lion, he walketh 
about, seeking whom he may devour. 

It must not be supposed, however, that in 
the instances just mentioned, Satan seduced 
true Christians from Christ, and ruined their 
souls. This he cannot do. When any were 
" delivered unto Satan," they were excluded 
from the church, as unbelievers ; for all such 
gave evidence that they had not experienced 
a change of heart. Still Satan has power 
over the Christian to tempt him to sin, though 
not to lead him to final ruin. He once 
moved David to number the people, contrary 
to the will of God. He was the means of 
bringing many trials and afflictions upon Job. 
He desired to have Peter, that he might 
"sift him as wheat." He even beset our 
Saviour, and spread before him his most 
alluring temptations, though utterly in vain. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 91 

The righteous, though often tempted by him, 
are never fatally seduced. When they are 
assaulted by him, they have an armor to 
protect them, as well as powerful weapons to 
vex the adversary. God is on their side, and 
who can prevail against them ? It is true an 
arrow from Satan's bow may occasionally 
pierce their souls ; but the Great Physician 
is ever ready to apply a speedy remedy. 
Satan, with all his "legion," can never de- 
stroy the souls of God's children. But over 
the children of darkness he holds a fearful 
power. He knows how to ensnare, and 
tempt, and allure, and ruin them ; and as 
they have no kind Father above to protect 
and deliver them, their danger is indeed great. 

Remember, then, youthful reader, that 
when you forsake the way of God, you must 
of necessity wander into Satan's grounds. 
The straight and narrow path is, in fact, laid 
out through his usurped territory ; for he is 
" the god of this world." The least deviation 
from this path must, therefore, expose the 
pilgrim to great danger ; and the farther he 
wanders, the greater does this danger become. 



92 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



God will defend you while you travel over 
his highway ; but you ought to expect no 
protection from him if you forsake it. On 
every side, snares are spread for you, and 
hellish plots are laid for your destruction. 
Like Bunyan's pilgrims, when they wandered 
on the grounds of Giant Despair, you may 
be taken captive, and led to the dungeon, if 
you linger on Satan's territory. The treat- 
ment which such receive, often reminds me 
of the unhappy fate of Zedekiah, when he 
was conquered by the king of Babylon. His 
eyes, after being compelled to witness a 
dreadful spectacle, — the murder of his own 
children, — were put out, and then he was led 
into captivity, bound in chains. So Satan, 
when he would lead a soul captive, darkens 
or extinguishes its vision, and leads it to 
death in chains and fetters. He is a " strong 
man armed," and his power is terrible,* 

* In speaking of Satan's power over men, in this chapter, 
the reader must not understand me as saying that it is any 
thing like an omnipotent or irresistible influence, beyond the 
control of the sinner. This is a Romish dogma, and is not 
taught in the Word of God. The sacred writers do not 
recommend exorcisms, and chrisms ; and holy water, and 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 93 



though often so artfully concealed, that his 
most faithful servants cannot be persuaded, 
even by the word of God, that such a being 
has an existence. 

We have thus seen that Satan is an un- 
wearied, vigilant and malignant foe, an artful 
deceiver, and a cruel master. His name is 
"enemy." And now, shall any thing more 
be said to the impenitent, to persuade them 
to escape from his yoke before God has deliv- 
ered them over to him for ever ? What more 
can be said ? 

incantations, to protect us from Satan and his angels ; but 
they simply say, 11 Resist the devil, and he will flee from 
you." James 4: 7. " Satan, 77 says Prof. Stuart, " derives 
his success from our voluntary subjection and yielding to 
him. He has no power to harm us, when we resist him, no 
more than he had to harm the Saviour, when he was tempt- 
ed, but still without any sin. 77 

8 



94 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



CHAPTER IV. 

SIN AWAKENS REMORSE OF CONSCIENCE. 

Scene in a palace — The reader introduced to Caligula — 
Object of the allusion — Definition of conscience — Its 
object — Familiar illustrations — All know what it is from 
experience — Conscience may be silenced for a season, but 
not for ever — The picture-gallery — The resurrection of 
conscience — The dead tree and the dead sinner — The sons 
of Jacob — The adulteress and her accusers — A story from 
Plutarch — The Hindoo who murdered his son — The stolen 
watch — Conscience may torture as well as reprove — 
Remorse — The royal murderer — Valuable testimony from 
Rev. Robert Hall— The duellist— Reflections. 

Behold a palace, radiant with purple and 
gold, and adorned with the richest tributes of 
art and skill. Beauty beams upon you in a 
thousand forms as you enter, till you are 
bewildered and lost amid the display of sump- 
tuous royalty. "Who dwells here?" are 
the first words that break from your lips. 
Who ? I will tell you. There dwells one 
here whose life is a continued scene of de- 
bauchery and crime; whose laughter and 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 95 



smiles can scarcely conceal the foul treachery 
of his heart; who wanders nearly all night 
long through his palace, unable to rest, now 
throwing himself upon a couch, and now 
traversing the long corridors, anxiously look- 
ing for the earliest dawn ; whose scanty hours 
of sleep are disturbed by hideous and tumul- 
tuous dreams, robbing him of repose, and 
seeming to shadow forth something more 
dark and terrible than words can describe. 
Wretched man ! Tormented by day and 
haunted by night, madly plunging deeper 
each hour into vice and crime, and yet all 
the while writhing under the lash of con- 
science, — hated and feared by all, and loving 
none, — what a being is this ! 

Such, reader, was a famous tyrant of old ; 
and I allude to him here, as an illustration of 
the meaning of the title at the head of this 
chapter. 

But what is conscience ? and what is it to 
awaken remorse in the soul ? Conscience is 
defined as " the sense of right and wrong." 
It is that power or faculty within us which 
takes cognizance of every thing we do, or 



96 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



say, or think, and either commends or re- 
proves, as the action is good or bad. It has 
been compared to a silent monitor, watching 
every action, thought and word, and admon- 
ishing us when in danger ; and to a secret 
judge, examining our conduct, and passing 
sentence upon us. It is a faculty upon which 
we should set a high value. What would 
man be without it ? It has survived the ruins 
of the fall, and, if properly treated, is one of 
our greatest safeguards against sin. God 
placed it in our bosoms for this purpose, and 
it can never be annihilated, though its voice 
may for a time be silenced. 

In youth, while it is tender, conscience 
speaks and admonishes us, even when we 
only contemplate mischief, and frequently 
compels us to break up our plans. I suppose 
this to be the principal object for which it 
was given us. But we are now to look upon 
it as inflicting pain upon the transgressor ; for 
this, also, is a part of its work. 

The punishment of sin begins with the first 
transgression ; and conscience is the scourge 
which God uses to accomplish this purpose. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 97 

When the well-trained child, who is old 
enough to understand the wishes of his moth- 
er, for the first time disregards them, how 
quickly does he feel the sting of conscience ! 
He thinks of that mother's love and kindness 
towards him, and his little heart is filled with 
grief, that he has caused her pain. The 
moral and amiable young man who, having 
left his father's roof, has just taken the first 
step in disobedience, by joining in a party of 
pleasure on the Sabbath, or visiting the thea- 
tre, or partaking of the intoxicating cup, will 
hear a sad, reproachful voice, when he returns 
to his pillow at night, which perchance will 
drive sleep from his eyelids for many a weary 
hour. This is his first step into the forbidden 
path of vice, but his punishment begins as 
soon as the sin is committed. Guilt has set 
him at variance with himself, and armed his 
conscience against him. 

During the interval between the trans- 
gression of Adam and Eve, and the appear- 
ance of God to them, though nothing is said 
of it in the Bible, they doubtless suffered from 

this same cause. It is difficult to believe 

8 # 



98 the sinner's friend. 

that their consciences slept quietly at such a 
moment as that. Whatever contracts guilt 
must, of necessity, produce either obduracy 
of heart, or remorse of conscience ; and in 
the earlier stages of sin, the latter effect gen- 
erally predominates. And who of us has not 
felt this feeling ? Who has a conscience that 
has not often reproved him, and perhaps 
stung him with remorse, when an important 
step in sin has been taken ? 

As I have before intimated, these reproofs 
of conscience may be silenced by resisting its 
admonitions, and repeatedly doing the things 
which it condemns. This is called searing 
the conscience, and will be spoken upon 
more fully in another chapter. This process 
is going on in the conscience of every impen- 
itent sinner, young and old. But there is 
one thing which should be remembered by 
all, though I fear it is forgotten by most. 
Conscience, when it seems to have retired 
from its seat, and given the reins to the sin- 
ner, is, in fact, silently marking down every 
sin he commits, and will one day bring them 
all to light, and, if they are not repented of, 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 99 

will rebuke him with terrible power. It 
treasures up even the smallest offences, and 
arranges them in its vast " picture-gallery ; " 
and there he must meet them, at a future 
day. O, it will be a fearful meeting, too. 
How will he start when sins stand out and 
frown upon him which he had forgotten long 
ago, and had vainly supposed were buried in 
oblivion ! " When conscience takes a man 
in hand, and leads him up and down through 
the gallery of his own remembered sins, stops 
at this picture and that, and points out shades 
and colorings that he never saw before, and 
sometimes darkens the room, and takes down 
a vivid transparency of guilt, and holds it 
before the fire to his vision, so that his past 
life seems to burn before him, it does not 
take long in such employment to make the 
room seem walled with retributive flames, 
and peopled with condemning fiends. " # 
Sometimes men have passed through a long 
life of prosperous guilt, and seemed almost to 
have lost their consciences, when unexpect- 
edly it awoke, and thundered its reproofs 



* Dr. Cheever's Lectures on Pilgrim's Progress. 



100 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



with such power as to drive them either to 
insanity, or to relief in Christ. 

It is surprising how little it takes, in some 
cases, to arouse a conscience that has slum- 
bered for years. One Sabbath morning, a 
man who was bitterly opposed to religion, 
and had long been the trial of his pious wife, 
took his axe upon his shoulder, and went to 
his wood-lot to fell trees. He soon saw one 
dead and dry, with its leafless branches 
extending into the air, and he said to himself, 
" That tree I will cut down ; it is dead and 
dry, fit only to burn." At that moment the 
thought rushed into his mind, "Am not I a 
dead tree, too, fit only to burn ? " It was 
the suggestion of his conscience, and perhaps 
of the Spirit of God, and in vain he tried to 
banish the thought. He struck a few blows 
with his axe, but the question still rose in his 
mind, "'Am not I a dead tree, fit only to 
burn ? Will not God say concerning me, Cut 
him down, for he cumbereth the ground?" 
Again and again he tried to drive away the 
harrowing thought : but it was a barbed 
arrow in his heart, and he could not tear it 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 101 

out. He plied his axe with increasing vigor, 
but every blow seemed to deepen the convic- 
tion of his own spiritual deadness. At last 
he could endure it no longer. He shouldered 
his axe, returned home to his chamber, fell 
on his knees before God, and cried for mercy ; 
and he found that peace which the penitent 
never seek in vain. This was the triumph 
of conscience. 

The Bible furnishes us with several striking 
instances of the power of a reproving con- 
science. The sons of Jacob, twenty years 
after they had sold their brother into slavery, 
and reported him as dead to their father, felt 
the just reproofs of this faithful monitor, when 
they said one to another, "We are verily 
guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw 
the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, 
and we would not hear; therefore is this 
distress come upon us." Gen. 42: 21. A 
still more remarkable instance is recorded in 
the life of our Saviour. The Scribes and 
Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken 
in adultery — a crime punishable by stoning 
to death. But when Christ said to them, 



102 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



" He that is without sin among you, let him 
first cast a stone at her." their own con- 
sciences began to condemn them, and they 
left his presence, one by one, till the woman 
alone was left with him. John 8 : 3-9. 

Plutarch, an ancient heathen historian, 
relates the story of one by the name of Bes- 
sus, which aptly illustrates this subject. He 
had murdered his father, and for years 
escaped detection. Being one day present 
with some friends at a feast, he suddenly 
lifted his spear, and struck down a nest of 
young swallows, which he immediately killed. 
When asked what reason he could possibly 
have for so barbarous an act, he replied, "Do 
you not hear how they falsely accuse me, 
and cry out that I murdered my father?" 
The suspicions which this answer excited 
were fully confirmed upon investigation ; and 
the unnatural son was ordered to execution, 
having been brought to justice by means of 
his own conscience. 

I recently met in a newspaper with another 
illustration of this kind, which lately occurred 
in India. A native was brought before a 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 103 



judge, charged upon his own confession with 
murdering his child. When the question was 
put, "Did you kill your son?" he replied, 
"Yes, I killed him." When asked for what 
fault he did this, he replied, " He never com- 
mitted any crime ; we were both starving ; I 
had nothing to give him to eat ; he cried, and 
looked in my face;' he was weak, and lay 
down on the ground. He lay down in the 
jungle, and could not rise again ; night was 
coming on, and I heard the tiger roaring, and 
I thought he would seize you, my poor boy, 
if I left you. And so I killed you ! I then 
buried him in a ravine, lest the wild beasts 
should devour him. I went away slowly, 
for I was weak and ill. And when I got 
further into the forest, I thought I heard him 
call. And then I fainted away. But he 
calls me now every day. In the morning, 
and noon, and night I hear him call, c Father, 

0 father ! ' So I cannot eat, I cannot work, 

1 cannot laugh, I can live no more ! So 
hang me, sir, kill me quick, and this wretch- 
edness is over." This is a remarkable illus- 
tration of the power of conscience, even over 



104 the sinner's friend. 

a benighted pagan; but he made a great 
mistake in supposing that death would silence 
its reproachful voice. 

In another newspaper I recently met with 
the following paragraph : a A gentleman who 

resides at street, yesterday received a 

watch, of which he was formerly owner, but 
which was stolen from him fourteen years 
ago, when he was a boy at school. With 
the watch he received a note, calling to his 
recollection the time and manner of the 
theft, which was effected by one of his 
schoolmates. The writer says that the watch 
had become a source of great affliction to his 
guilty conscience, so much so that he had 
resolved to return it without delay. 55 Cases 
of this kind, in which conscience has com- 
pelled the sinner to make amends for injuries 
committed long since, have been of frequent 
occurrence, of late. 

But these illustrations do not. give us a 
very correct idea of what conscience can do, 
and often has done, when the sinner has long 
closed his ear to its voice, and treated its 
friendly admonitions with contempt. When 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 105 

aroused under such circumstances, it becomes 
bold as a lion, and terrible as a scourge of 
scorpions. Then it is that dread remorse, 
vulture-like, broods over the bleeding spirit, 
and preys upon the last remnant of the 
sinner's hopes. 

" Conscience, the torturer of the soul, unseen, 
Does fiercely brandish a sharp scourge within. 
Severe decrees may keep our tongues in awe, 
But to our thoughts what edict can give law? 
Even you yourself to your own breast shall tell 
Your crimes, and your own conscience be your hell." 

Remorse ! it is the greatest agony that a 
man can endure. It is as though a host of 
accusers surrounded him, each with a thou- 
sand tongues, reproaching and upbraiding 
him. Yet he is his own accuser and his own 
tormentor. Thus was it with Charles IX, 
of France, who ordered the massacre of 
Bartholomew, and assisted in that bloody 
tragedy. Ever after that event, he had a 
fierceness in his looks, and a color in his face, 
which he never had before. His conscience 
troubled him so that he could sleep but little, 
and never sound, but frequently woke up in 
9 



106 the sinner's friend. 

great distress, requiring soft music to compose 
him. After having undergone the most in- 
tense suffering of body and mind, he at length 
died of a lingering disorder, — leaving on the 
page of history, in the record of his life, a 
most melancholy example of the power of a 
remorseful conscience. 

The Rev. Robert Hall, father of the cele- 
brated clergyman of the same name, passed 
seven years of his early life in a state of 
darkness, distress and despondency, occa- 
t sioned by a conscience burdened with sin. 
At times his mind was filled with despair, 
and borne down by an overwhelming sense 
of guilt, and dreadful apprehensions of eternal 
death, which his Arminian pastor was wholly 
unable to remove. While in this state, he 
met with several distressing accidents ; at 
one time he had an arm and three of his ribs 
broken ; and before these got well, he was 
thrown from his horse, by which his arm was 
again broken, his other arm and collar-bone 
fractured, and his shoulder disjointed. Yet, 
severe as was the pain caused by these mul- 
tiplied calamities, he often declared, that all 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 107 

the pain he endured from these broken bones 
did not equal the anguish of his mind. " The 
spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity ; but 
a wounded spirit who can bear ? " Pr.18 : 14. 

Before leaving this subject, I will give the 
reader one more illustration of the power of a 
remorseful conscience. Not many years ago, 
a duel was fought near one of our principal 
cities, between two individuals who were 
related to each other, and had once been 
friends. Their muskets were loaded with 
buckshot and slugs, and, after withdrawing 
ten paces apart, they fired. The effect was 
fatal to the one who sent the challenge, and 
he fell dead upon the spot. The other 
escaped unhurt. . . A few years have passed 
away, and where now is the " honorable" 
and fashionable murderer? He is intelligent, 
educated and wealthy, and why should he 
not be prosperous and happy? He might 
have been, but, like the first murderer, he 
bears a mark of infamy and guilt upon him, 
which no earthly power may remove. Visit 
his bedside, as he retires at night. After 
tossing for hours upon his restless pillow, and 



108 the sinner's friend. 



again and again uttering a deep, half-stifled 
groan , that reveals the inward pangs of his 
soul, he sinks into sleep. And now, rolling 
from side to side, the name of his murdered 
victim falls repeatedly from his lips, accom- 
panied with broken words and exclamations 
that discover the keen remorse preying upon 
his conscience. Suddenly he starts up in 
the bed, terrified with the thought that the 
avenger of blood is pursuing him ; and now 
he hides himself beneath the covering, as if 
to escape the withering frown of an offended 
God. And thus does conscience scourge 
him continually, leaving him no rest by day 
or by night. He is not a maniac, nor is his 
intellect disordered; but he is given up to 
the torments of an evil conscience. And he 
who once would show himself a man of cour- 
age and honor, by braving death, is now 
compelled to confess that he dare not sleep 
alone ! 

Such, reader, is one of the punishments of 
sin in this life. Does it seem to you a trifling 
thing ? Do you think you shall have no fear 
of the terrors of an evil conscience, if you 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 109 

can but obtain wealth, or honor, or the means 
of pleasure? Ah, if you judge thus, you 
know little of the terrible fire which such a 
conscience may kindle in your breast. If 
bodily pain is to be dreaded, how much more 
is that of which I have here spoken ! I 
know not that anguish of body ever drove 
one poor mortal to the suicide's grave ; but 
anguish of mind, — remorse of conscience, — 
has driven thousands thither. These are the 
pangs of the second death. Wo to the sin- 
ner, when they get hold of his soul ! No 
earthly physician, no worldly good, can con- 
sole him. He is, in one sense, already in 
the world of the lost. 

" Within him hell 
He brings, and round about him ; nor from hell 
One step no more than from himself can fly, 
By change of place." 

See to it, reader, that this misery is not min- 
gled in your cup. You can escape it only 
by obeying and cherishing conscience, and 
renouncing sin. 

9* 



110 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



CHAPTER V. 

SIN AWAKENS FEAR OE DETECTION AND PUNISH- 
MENT. 

Fear the offspring of disobedience — Contrast between angels 
and men — Remark of a criminal — The sinner afraid of 
God's eye — The righteous not — Illustrations — An ancient 
threatening — Fear sometimes beneficial — An instance — 
Another aspect of fear — A source of misery — The offender 
betrayed by it — Above law, but not above fear — Tiberius — 
Antiochus Epiphanes — Richard III — Fear common to all 
— Hobbes, the skeptic — Testimony of Bunyan — A disas- 
trous effect. 

Fear, as well as care, solicitude, anxiety, 
and all similar unpleasant emotions, is to be 
set down on the long catalogue of the evils 
of sin. It is the unhappy offspring of diso- 
bedience to God, and is entirely unknown 
where sin does not exist. When it is said 
that the heavenly beings fear their Maker, 
the word implies a holy, reverential awe, 
quite different from the emotion of a sinner's 
heart. Angels do not fear to meet the eye 
of God, nor tremble and quakef at his pres- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. Ill 

ence, as Israel did when he appeared to them 
on Mount Sinai. They have never sinned, 
and why should they be fearful ? They 
rejoice in the perfections of the Almighty, 
and adore his justice and his truth. But this 
the sinner cannot do. The holiness of God, 
as it pours down upon his mind, is as the 
spark that lights the tinder, — the flame that 
kindles the everlasting burnings. He dreads 
and quails before the very attributes in which 
angels find their greatest joy. 

A criminal once wept while his trial was 
in progress, and some one attempted to com- 
fort him by assuring him that justice would 
be done. "Alas ! " said the unhappy man, 
" that is what I am afraid of." So is it with 
every sinner; he fears justice, and he fears 
holiness. He is, therefore, afraid even to 
have God look upon him. If he realized 
that an omnipotent eye beheld every action 
of his life, and read every thought of his 
heart, his pleasure would be dashed in a 
moment. This is guilt ; — it shuns the eye of 
God. How different is it with a converted 
soul ! David rejoiced that God knew him so 



112 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



perfectly ; and he even prayed, " Search me, 
O God, and know my heart; try me, and 
know my thoughts." Ps. 139: 23. The 
testimony of the late Dr. Harris, of New 
Hampshire, was similar to this. "I have 
preached," said he, when near the close of 
life, "I have preached about God, I have 
read about God, and I have thought about 
God ; and now I want to see him, face to 
face, eye to eye, — not through a glass, dark- 
ly. I am not afraid of God. I don't wish 
to hide myself from him. I wish to see 
him." This is the language of piety and 
innocence. 

God has wisely and justly decreed that 
sinners shall fear, when they go astray. 
Hear what he said, respecting his ancient 
people: "I will send a faintness into their 
hearts, in the land of their enemies ; and the 
sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them ; and 
they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword ; and 
they shall fall when none pursueth." Lev. 
26 : 36. Similar threatenings are found in 
other parts of the Scriptures, plainly teaching 
us that fear, or the anticipation and dread of 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 113 

evil to come, is an important part of the sin- 
ner's punishment in this world. 

But it should not be forgotten that one of 
the designs of fear is to restrain and reform 
the transgressor. Look at an illustration. 
Henry has been forbidden to go on the ice 
to-day, because his parents think it unsafe ; 
but a favorable opportunity offers, and, though 
accustomed to obey, the temptation to sin 
overcomes him, and he joins the skating 
party. He does not go far before he has 
some apprehensions that all is not safe ; and 
now he thinks of his mother's warning, and 
the command of his father. He grows more 
and more uneasy, and he imagines the danger 
greater, on account of his disobedience. At 
length his fears get such power over him 
that, excusing himself the best way he can, 
he turns about, and retraces his steps. And 
now look upon him, quickening his pace as 
he nears the shore. He knows he has done 
wrong, and fears some punishment will over- 
take him for it ; and so deep an impression 
has this thought made upon his mind, that he 
almost fancies the ice bends and cracks 



114 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



beneath him at each step. Now, when 
Henry reaches the shore, his salutary fears 
(and you must not think them mere coward- 
ice, for he is not a coward) will have pro- 
duced a good result upon him. He has felt 
their restraining influence, and to-morrow will 
be less likely to disobey his parents than he 
was yesterday. This is one of the good 
effects of fear. Paul made use of it, when 
he preached the gospel ; for he says, " Know- 
ing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we 
persuade men." 2 Cor. 5:11 But we are 
now to look at fear as one of the evil con- 
sequences of sin, and not as a means of 
reforming the sinner. 

Fear is the opposite of hope, and is always 
an unhappy state of mind. It shuts peace 
out of the soul, and introduces into it morose- 
ness and remorse. Even when a guilty per- 
son has no fear of punishment, but simply 
dreads to have his conduct known, this feeling 
may destroy his peace. But when detection 
becomes probable, and to this is added a 
distressing fear of punishment, nothing more 
is wanting to make him miserable. To 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 115 

enforce and illustrate what I have said, I will 
now endeavor to show the reader the opera- 
tion of fear upon men under several different 
circumstances. 

First, then, let us look at one who has 
committed a crime against the laws of the 
land. Perhaps the offender is so sunk in 
vice, that conscience does not utter one word 
of rebuke. He cares not for what he has 
done, nor laments the consequences of his 
guilt. But still he fears. He is suspicious 
of every one he meets by day, and is fre- 
quently alarmed in his sleep by the thought 
that he is discovered. "A dreadful sound is 
in his ears." Job 15: 21. Thus many a 
guilty criminal has betrayed himself, and 
suffered the punishment which, but for his 
fears, he might have escaped. Under the 
influence of the same feeling, the highway- 
man, fleeing for his life, " sees in each bush 
an officer," and fancies every moment that 
he will fall into the hands of justice ; remind- 
ing one of that saying of Solomon, "The 
wicked flee when no man pursueth." Prov. 
28: 1. Now these men, though their coffers 



116 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



are well filled with ill-gotten gold, and every 
thing around them is pleasant, and inviting, 
and lovely, know nothing of the enjoyment 
and peace of the just and upright. How 
can they, when they are constantly haunted 
with fears that they may soon find themselves 
within the dark walls of a prison, stripped of 
all they now call their own ? There can be 
no peace or enjoyment of mind to such. 

But suppose these men were permitted to 
indulge in all the vices and crimes they chose, 
without being interfered with at all by human 
law. Fines, imprisonment and death are 
not permitted to disturb their peace, but 
every restraint is removed, and nothing is 
allowed to molest them in the gratification of 
their passions. What have they to fear now? 
Some might say, nothing ; but there is a 
doubt as to this. Let us look at one or two 
instances of this kind, recorded in history. 

Tiberius, the gloomy, treacherous and cruel 
tyrant of Rome, imagined himself beyond 
the control of every law. He sported like a 
savage with the lives of his people, and 
plunged into the most revolting vices. Yet 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 117 

this tyrant, while thus acting, in all the 
plenitude of his power, was tormented night 
and day with most dreadful apprehensions. 
And at length he wrote a letter to the Sen- 
ate, in which he disclosed the inward wound 
of his soul, and expressed such words of 
despair, as might have excited the pity even 
of those who lived in constant fear of his 
tyranny. These mental agonies, this dis- 
tressing fear of evil to come, were the conse- 
quences of his crimes, as himself confessed. 

Antiochus Epiphanes was another ancient 
tyrant, who is celebrated in history for his 
cruelty and impiety. He ridiculed all reli- 
gions, and robbed the temple of the Jews, 
as well as of the Greeks. He conquered 
Jerusalem about one hundred and seventy 
years before our Saviour's birth, and, after 
inflicting upon the citizens every calamity 
that furious malice could invent, and causing 
their streets to flow with blood, he attempted 
to make them become pagans. A short time 
before he died, while he was suffering incred- 
ible pains of body, his conscience awoke, and 
brought with it many terrible fears and appre- 
10 



118 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 

hensions. In his delirium, he imagined that 
spectres stood continually before him, and 
reproached him for his crimes ; and thus he 
died, tormented with imaginary fears. Such 
examples confirm the remark of Flavel, that 
" a guilty conscience is more terrified by 
imaginary dangers, than a pure conscience is 
by real ones." 

History furnishes us with numerous other 
instances of the power of fear, even in those 
who are beyond the reach of human law and 
justice; but I will relate only one more. 
King Richard III, after he had murdered his 
innocent nephews, was so troubled with fear 
that he always acted as if some great danger 
were in his way. His eyes were ever wan- 
dering about on every side, and he frequently 
laid his hand upon his dagger, with a furious 
look, that seemed to intimate that he was 
about to fall upon some one. He wore a 
suit of mail, to protect his life. Distressed 
as he was by day, he suffered even more at 
night ; for, alarmed by terrifying dreams, he 
would spring from his bed, and run about his 
chamber like a madman. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 119 

Thus does fear follow the commission of 
crime, in this world. Every one who has 
transgressed just human laws, knows this to 
be true. And it is the same with every 
being who transgresses the laws of God. 
Even the most abandoned are, in some part 
of their life, troubled with these fears. The 
scoffing infidel, the designing hypocrite, and 
every impenitent sinner, knows what they 
are. That notorious skeptic, Mr. Hobbes, 
who poisoned so many minds with his wicked 
principles, was accustomed, in a humor of 
bravado, to speak strange and blasphemous 
things of God; and those who heard him, 
doubtless, thought him a bold champion of 
atheism. But it was not so. Some, who 
narrowly watched him, declared that in his 
study, in the dark, and in his retired thoughts, 
he trembled before God. He was unable to 
bear the dismal reflections of his dark and 
benighted mind. He could not endure to be 
left alone in the house, or to sleep in the 
dark ; and if his candle went out in the night, 
he awoke in terror. He could not bear that 
death should be mentioned to him, even in 



120 the sinner's friend. 

his old age ; and when the dreaded hour at 
length arrived, he was filled with terrible 
apprehensions of the future. Was- not this a 
" fearful looking for of judgment and fiery- 
indignation ? " 

We have another illustration in the life of 
John Bunyan, before his conversion. While 
he was the ringleader among the profane and 
wicked, he had not a few terrifying thoughts, 
as well as many stings of conscience. After 
days spent in sin, his dreams were sometimes 
peculiarly frightful. A distressing fear of 
retribution intruded into his gayest hours ; 
and thus, in his experience, were frequently 
verified the words of another, "Fearfulness 
and trembling are come upon me, and horror 
hath overwhelmed me." Ps. 55 : 5. 

After the sinner has followed a long course 
of sins, and hardened his heart in unbelief, 
we all know how difficult it is for him to 
repent. Even if his soul is awakened, and 
sees its dreadful danger, there is yet a secret 
power that holds him back, — a power which, 
too often, is never overcome. And what is 
this power ? It is like a rope, composed of 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 121 

several fibres or strands, united and twisted 
together ; and one of these strands is the very 
thing of which I am speaking. So we see 
another of the evil consequences of fear. 
While in the situation described, the sinner 
fears an injured God, and dare not hope for 
pardon ; yes, he even fears the Saviour of 
sinners, and cannot be persuaded to look 
upon him as his friend. He imagines that 
there is no salvation for him, no refuge to 
hide his defenceless head from the storm. 
Sin has done its work, and fear, like an evil 
spirit, broods over his soul, not permitting 
him to cherish one thought of repentance, or 
one hope of recovery. Then it is he imag- 
ines that God has verified that awful threat- 
ening, " I will mock when your fear cometh ; 
when your fear cometh as desolation, and 
your destruction cometh as a whirlwind." 
Prov. 1: 26, 27. 

10* 



122 the sinner's friend. 



CHAPTER VI. 

SIN CAUSES SHAME, AND LOSS OF SELE-RESPECT. 

Different kinds of shame — Power of this emotion — Shame 
considered as one of the punishments of sin — Its effects 
— Destroys peace — Drives the sinner to conceal his guilt 
— Destroys self-respect — The fatal result — Shame of the 
vicious man — Shame often exposes guilt — Caution against 
two mistakes. 

There are several kinds of shame. First, 
there is a sort of shameful feeling, which is 
very common, but which does not arise frc;m 
conscience. It is sometimes sinful, as when 
one is ashamed of his poverty, or the body 
which God has given him ; and it is some- 
times innocent, as when a person, by a 
blunder, exposes himself to the laughter of 
others. Shame, even when it arises from 
such trivial causes as these, is often powerful 
in its effects. A slight breach of etiquette 
will produce a most disagreeable effect upon 
a sensitive person, which will not be forgotten 
for weeks. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 123 

When this feeling is provoked by ridicule 
or reproach, it is often far more disastrous. 
I have read in history of two men, who are 
said to have destroyed themselves out of pure 
mortification, caused by the biting satire of a 
poet, whose anger they had aroused. One 
of the pupils of Pythagoras was so sensibly 
affected by a reprimand, which his teacher 
administered to him in the presence of all the 
rest, that he could not survive the disgrace, 
and killed himself. 

But with this kind of emotion I have 
nothing to do, here ; I mention it merely to 
show the power of shame, even when it is 
not aggravated by a reproving conscience. 
There is a shame, however, which arises 
from doing wrong, and which is one of the 
punishments of sin ; and I shall now endeavor 
to show what the effects of this emotion are 
upon the sinner. 

1. It destroys his peace. The fruits of 
sin are always bitter ; and the experience of 
every sinner will confirm this truth. While 
a person is under the influence of shame, he 
is incapable of happiness. 



124 the sinner's friend. 

2. It is apt to make the sinner conceal 
his guilt. Instead of repenting of it, and 
acknowledging it, he is ashamed of what he 
has done, and seeks to cover it up, thus 
making his condition more hopeless. When 
Adam fell, a feeling of deep mortification 
rushed into his soul, and he hid himself from 
God, — the same God in whose smile he had 
just before delighted, and who had manifested 
nothing but kindness toward him. Every 
sinner, since that unhappy day, has felt more 
or less of this feeling, impelling him to hide 
his sin, rather than frankly confess it, *and 
seek forgiveness. Reader, how is it with 
you? Has shame never induced you to 
conceal from your friends, perhaps by means 
of a falsehood, some act of which you have 
been guilty ? And now is this a trifling evil ? 
Is it not a melancholy sight to behold one 
hiding his sins when he ought to confess and 
renounce them, apparently unconcerned for 
the guilt he has incurred, if he may but 
escape the censure of men ? 

3. It is the tendency of shame to destroy 
our self-respect. Every one knows that self- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 125 

respect is a very important part of our nature. 
God gave it to us, that we might set a proper 
estimate upon ourselves, our faculties, and 
our destiny, and not live like the brutes that 
perish ; — that we might be allied to the 
bright beings of a better world, and be led to 
aspire to the joys they inherit. But sin aims 
a deadly blow at all this. It produces 
shame, and thus weakens self-respect, so that 
after the sinner has once entered the forbid- 
den path, there is a strong impulse drawing 
him downward. At length he loses his no- 
blest qualities, — his manliness and sense of 
dignity have departed, and the way is open 
for speedy ruin. Then he feels the utmost 
truth of that passage, "And they shall loathe 
themselves for the evils which they have 
committed in all their abominations. ?? Eze. 
6 : 9. Then he looks upon himself as unfit 
for heaven, and every motive that can be 
urged only drives him farther from hope, and 
sinks him deeper in sin. Remember, then, 
that no one can pursue a course of open sin, 
without losing his self-respect, in a great 
degree. 



126 the sinner's friend. 

If we look upon a person who has plunged 
headlong into degrading vice, we have a 
vivid illustration of this truth. How often 
does an intolerable feeling of shame rankle in 
the bosom of such a person, even in the 
midst of his mad career ! At the rebuke of 
virtue, he stands abashed ; and perhaps even 
the presence or look of a virtuous person will 
cover him with shame and contempt. Look, 
also, at the guilty criminal, at the bar of 
justice, and you behold another illustration. 
As he stands before a judge of spotless integ- 
rity, and a jury composed of upright men, 
w T hat burning and almost insupportable shame 
rests upon him, while his secret deeds of 
guilt are brought to light, and his conduct is 
sternly and severely rebuked by all in his 
presence. God once said of some sinners of 
old, " Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel 
shall be ashamed of his own counsel," Hos. 
10:6; and he remembers this, at the present 
day, when he deals with his enemies. 

4. Shame is sometimes made a still greater 
evil to the sinner, by exposing his guilt. 
Although it naturally leads him to cover up 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 127 

his sin, yet it sometimes turns traitor, and 
brings him to punishment, if he has trans- 
gressed human laws, when he would not 
otherwise be suspected. " The show of their 
countenance doth witness against them ; and 
they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide 
it not." Is. 3 : 9. It has been said, that 
" guiltiness would speak, though tongues were 
out of use;" and here we see this truth 
verified. A slight blush, a confused look of 
shame and fear,- — how often have these trivial 
circumstances betrayed guilt, and bore wit- 
ness to the power of conscience within ! 

Before closing this subject, I wish to guard 
my reader against two mistakes, to which 
some may be exposed. First, let no one 
understand me to say, that every act of sin 
produces immediate shame, or that all expe- 
rience alike the power of this emotion. This 
is not true. As some are more exposed to 
fear than others, so some feel shame more 
keenly and more frequently than their neigh- 
bors. But yet every sinner knows something 
of it by his own experience ; and, therefore, 
it should be regarded as one of the universal 



128 the sinner's friend. 

consequences of sin. Could you, at one 
view, survey all the inhabitants of the world, 
and look into their thoughts, as well as 
behold their countenances, you would doubt- 
less be surprised to find how few there are 
free from this emotion. And were men seen 
as they are, there would be even more and 
far deeper shame than there is in the world ; 
but they are careful to conceal their hearts, 
and thus escape it, for a season. 

Again, let no one suppose that shame is 
always injurious to the sinner. Like the 
other effects of sin, it sometimes induces him 
to leave the path of vice, or dishonesty, or 
whatever sin he has fallen into, and become 
virtuous and upright; and thus it exerts a 
beneficial influence upon him. Still, in itself, 
and generally in its results, it causes great evil 
to the sinner. God has ordained that it shall 
form one of the cords in the sinner's scourge, 
in this life ; and while there is sin here, 
shame will ever be ready to inflict its share 
of punishment. " I will bring an everlasting 
reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, 
which shall not be forgotten," Jer. 23 : 40. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 129 



CHAPTER VII. 

SIN INJURES THE CONSCIENCE. 

The floating alarm whistle — An emblem of conscience — 
Important design of conscience — Sin perverts and darkens 
it — The heathen murderer — The superstitious pagan — The 
conscience of pagans always perverted — A Jewish illus- 
tration — Perversion of conscience in Christian lands — A 
Roman Catholic's conscience — Sin sears the conscience — 
The process — A seared conscience a great evil — Disease 
and death without pain or warning — An unnatural and 
dangerous state — An important thought. 

Among the numerous inventions which 
have been made for the preservation of life 
and property on the ocean, is one called the 
"floating alarm whistle/' designed to be 
placed where there is danger from shoals or 
rocks. It is so constructed, that the motion 
of the waves upon it produces a continual 
sound, which may be heard for several miles ; 
and, by a beautiful arrangement, when the 
weather is unusually rough, the power of the 
whistle is doubled, so as always to be heard 
11 



130 the sinner's friend. 

above the raging of the storm. The mariner, 
approaching the place of danger during the 
night, or in a dense fog, may thus always be 
warned of his peril, and escape shipwreck, 
by giving heed to the faithful monitor. 

In this ingenious and humane contrivance, 
there is something that reminds me very for- 
cibly of that faculty of men, to which allusion 
was made in a previous chapter, called 
conscience. There seems to be a striking 
resemblance, in some points, between the 
two. Conscience, like the alarm whistle, is 
a humane and kind provision, intended to 
warn of dangers unseen and unknown, and 
thus to save from destruction ; and, when in 
a healthy condition, the greater the danger, 
the louder is its warning. God has withdrawn 
himself from direct communion with us, on 
account of our sin ; he suffers us to be tossed 
about with storms and tempests, on the voy- 
age of life, without a pilot or a guide ; but 
he has given us a chart (the Bible), and also 
placed within us a monitor, which not only 
has the power to alarm and admonish us, 
when we are driving upon rocks and shoals, 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 131 

but which also reproves and punishes us, 
when we go astray, and commends and 
encourages us, when we are in the right. It 
is a blessed gift, and one whose value is not 
half appreciated. When enlightened and 
cultivated, it is a powerful shield against 
every attack of evil within. Had sin let it 
alone, there would be far less wickedness in 
the world than there is. But sin's deadly 
touch has been upon it, to mar and derange 
its operations, as we shall now see. 

There are two ways in which sin injures 
the conscience, as intimated in the title of 
this chapter: 1. By perverting it. 2. By 
searing it. 

First, sin perverts or darkens conscience, 
so that, after a while, it calls good evil, and 
evil good. A degraded native of India once 
murdered his wife, and was condemned to 
death. When a missionary visited him, and 
endeavored to awaken his soul to a sense of 
its guilt, he replied, " I have done no harm, 
— I have only killed my wife, — why should 
I be hung for that ? " Here was a darkened 
and perverted conscience. The guilty hus- 



132 the sinner's friend. 



band had probably been taught, that it was 
no crime to injure or even murder a female ; 
and as he had always seen others act upon 
this principle, and had become familiar with 
it, his conscience approved the evil deed, 
though he was condemned to death for it. 

Take another illustration. A missionary, 
among another people, once requested a 
native to go and buy some fowls for him. 
The latter, knowing they were to be killed, 
replied, " I am afraid of the crime," and 
refused to do the errand. Crime to buy 
fowls ! Yes, so this man's perverted con- 
science told him. And yet, can you believe 
it, this same man not a week before endeav- 
ored to sell two of his children to this mis- 
sionary ! Thus we may be taught to " strain 
at a gnat and swallow a camel." 

In the histories of heathen nations, we 
occasionally meet with a bright and noble 
exception to the degradation, cruelty and 
superstition which characterize the mass of 
the people. But still we can generally trace 
the effects of a misguided conscience. Soc- 
rates, who is believed to have been as pure 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 133 

and exalted a character as the pagan world 
ever produced, fell into not a few errors, from 
this cause, which have left a dark blemish on 
his reputation. And thus has it ever been 
with the conscience unenlightened with the 
word of God. 

But a perverted conscience is not always 
confined to pagan darkness. Saul of Tarsus, 
though he inherited the privileges of a Roman 
citizen, was a Jew and a Pharisee. His 
talents were great, and his education of a 
high order. A pupil of Gamaliel, he enjoyed 
rare facilities for becoming a master of Jewish 
law. He was familiar with the sacred volume 
of inspiration, then in the possession of his 
countrymen. But, with all this, who was 
ever betrayed into greater errors and sins by 
an evil conscience? Under its sanction and 
influence, he was goaded on almost to 
madness, in destroying the defenceless and 
harmless disciples of Christ. And for these 
bloody persecutions, conscience commended 
him, and told him that he was doing God a 
service, and preparing for himself an honor- 
able place in Abraham's bosom. O, what 
11* 



134 the sinner's friend. 



infatuation ! What a terrible thing is con- 
science, when it is thus permitted to drive on 
its victim in darkness and ignorance, amid 
perils and dangers unseen, regardless of the 
consequences ! 

Let not these illustrations lead my readers 
to suppose that Jews and pagans alone are 
guilty of perverting their consciences. What 
sin did for them, it does for many of us. It 
is often true of those who live in Christian 
lands, and are brought up, as it were, in the 
sanctuary of the true God, that "their mind 
and conscience is defiled." Each one has it 
in his power to blind this monitor, to a certain 
extent ; and by long practice and diligent 
training, it can generally be made to accom- 
modate itself to any darling sin. To do this, 
you have only to shut the light from it, and 
to resist its monitions. Soon it will be 
perverted, darkened and defiled, so as to 
countenance evil, and to frown upon good. 

A singular illustration of the unhappy 
effects of a perverted conscience recently 
occurred within my own observation. An 
Irish domestic was suddenly seized with 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 135 

what appeared to be a mingled emotion of 
fear and rembrse ; and in the bitterness of her 
soul she was heard exclaiming, " O, I shall 
go to hell ! O God, forgive me! O, save 
me ! " She thus continued her cries for some 
time, attesting her sincerity by her tears, and 
at the same time wringing her hands, as if in 
great suffering. What could be the matter ? 
Had she been guilty of some fearful crime, 
which seemed to seal her eternal ruin, or had 
conscience just awakened from a long slum- 
ber, and begun to set her sins in order before 
her ? No, neither of these is the true answer. 
It was Friday ; and, carelessly forgetting this 
fact, she had just eaten some meat, — thereby 
disobeying that command of the Roman 
Catholic church, which prohibits flesh on 
" all Fridays of the year," as the Catechism 
expresses it ! This was the whole of her 
offence ; and the darkened and perverted 
conscience of the poor woman, which had 
from infancy been held in bondage to the 
superstitions and errors of popery, literally 
tormented her for performing a perfectly 
innocent act. 



136 the sinner's friend. 



2. But, reader, your conscience is exposed 
to another fearful evil, while you remain in 
sin ; — it may become seared. The apostle 
Paul speaks of those who give heed to 
seducing spirits, and sin against God, " hav- 
ing their conscience seared with a hot iron." 
1 Tim. 4 : 2. By this it is meant, that 
it may be so resisted and violated, as 
to lose its life and power, at least for a 
season. Every sin committed against it 
lessens its power, and breaks down the bar- 
riers it has raised in the soul. Under this 
harsh treatment, its voice becomes feeble, 
and soon gives place to silence ; but it is the 
silence of moral death. The struggles and 
smartings which were lately felt in the soul, 
are succeeded by a calm ; but it is the awful 
calm of the grave. As one, in freezing, after 
the first painful sensation is over, no longer 
feels the cold, and imagines himself warm 
and comfortable, even while death's icy 
fingers are laid upon his heart, so the sinner, 
whose conscience is benumbed in sin, thinks 
not of the work of death that is going on in 
his soul, but imagines himself safe, because 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 137 

all is quiet and peaceful there. Dreadful 
delusion ! He is like the sailor, upon a calm 
but deceitful sea, without chart, or buoy, or 
light-house, to warn him of dangers which 
his eye cannot discover. 

A seared conscience is one of the greatest 
evils that can afflict a human being. Far 
better to writhe under its tortures, and to 
endure almost any amount of suffering from 
its scorpion lash ; for then there is some hope 
of amendment and recovery. But there can 
be none, while the conscience is completely 
paralyzed. Consumption, in New England, 
is considered a dreadful disease, because so 
insidious and deceitful in its attacks. Sup- 
pose, however, it should come upon its victim 
unawares, fasten upon the vital parts of his 
system, and then silently do its fatal work, 
without causing one pang, or symptom of 
disease, till, in a moment, life was extin- 
guished, like the putting out of a candle. 
Would it not be deemed a far more dreadful 
disease than it is now? Yes, every one 
would say, let me know that the work of 
death has begun, though this knowledge cost 



138 the sinner's friend. 

me racking pains and an aching heart. Re- 
covery is not impossible, if we are seasonably 
warned of the disease. Precisely so is it 
with conscience. Who wishes to live quietly 
at ease, while the dreadful disease of moral 
death is advancing in his soul every hour ? 
Who would not wish to have conscience 
torment him day and night, rather than that 
it should lie down in silence, and see death 
strike his arrows into the soul, one by one, 
without uttering a note of warning ? If the 
sentinel upon the watch-tower is faithless, 
who shall give the alarm when foes approach ? 

Reader, if this fatal process has commenced 
upon your conscience, you ought to be 
alarmed. Should you discover to-day that 
you could cut and lacerate your body without 
causing pain, how would it alarm you ! You 
would know that it was in some dangerously 
unnatural state. But what do you think of 
your conscience, when you can sin against it 
every hour of your life, perhaps, without its 
occasioning one rebuke, or one pang of re- 
morse ? Is not your moral being in a fearfully 
diseased and unnatural state ? It must be so. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 139 

One word more. When conscience be- 
comes thus hardened and seared, do not 
suppose that it is dead. Many fall into this 
mistake, and flatter themselves that they shall 
be no more troubled with its complaints and 
scourges. But it is not dead ; or, if it is, 
there is soon to be a fearful resurrection, 
which shall send terror through the guilty 
soul. Beware of this, ere the admonition be 
too late. 



140 the sinner's friend. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SESr HARDENS THE HEART. 

Augustus N , or the progress of crime — Three important 

points illustrated — The heart susceptible at first, but 
quickly hardened by sin — A great change — The hardened 
murderer — Good instruction no safeguard against hardness 
of heart — iNor youth — The young murderer — A narrow 
escape from ruin — The great evil of a hard heart — Does 
God harden men's hearts ? — A superintendent's illustration 
— The heart hardened by judgments — God's method with 
certain great sinners — An admonition. 

Augustus N was an uncommonly 

promising boy. Every attention that fond 
parents could bestow upon an only son, was 
freely lavished upon him. As he early 
discovered a fondness for books, his father 
determined to give him a liberal education ; 
and accordingly he was sent to a high-school, 
where he made such rapid progress, that he 
was soon placed at college. Here he dis- 
tinguished himself for his scholarship, and, 
after four years, graduated, with the honors 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 141 

of the institution. He then commenced the 
study of law, and at an early age obtained 
license to practise. 

In the fall of 1833, Augustus left his 
native State, New Jersey, and, flushed with 
the brilliant prospects of success that lay 
before him, directed his face to the West. 
The blessing of his parents, and the kind 
admonitions of his friends, followed him, as 
he left his early home. He soon found him- 
self on board a steamboat, bound for Louis- 
ville ; and, to while away the time, it was 
proposed to play a game of cards. He had 
determined to avoid all such things ; but, 
thinking there could be no harm in playing a 
game for amusement, he consented to join 
the party. After a time it was proposed to 
bet a small sum on the game, merely, as it 
was said, to give an interest to it. The first 
impression of our young lawyer was, to leave 
the table ; but he could lose at most only one 
or two dollars, and his companions would 
think he was a mean man, if he should 
withdraw. He played the game, and, un- 
fortunately, he won. Again and again he 
12 



142 the sinner's friend. 

played, and still was successful ; but, alas, 
his success ruined him. 

Mr. N soon after settled in a thriving 

village in Tennessee, and commenced his 
practice under very flattering auspices. But 
the thirst for gaming which he contracted on 
board the steamboat, now grew upon him 
rapidly. One night, he won $200; and, in 
honor of his success, his companions insisted 
that he should treat. He complied ; and, 
before they separated, all the party were 
deeply intoxicated ! With Mr. N. it was 
the first time ; and on the following day, 
stung with remorse, he resolved never again 
to play a game of cards. After about three 
months, however, he yielded to the entreaties 
of his dissipated associates, and once more 
resorted to the gaming-table, where he met 
with varied success. But, in all cases, he 
found an excuse for introducing the wine- 
bottle. If he won, he treated his good 
fortune ; and if he lost, he drank to drown 
his sorrows. Thus drinking and gambling 
soon became his chief employment. Aban- 
doned by his virtuous friends, he \vas speedily 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 143 

reduced to want and wretchedness. While 
in this state, he received a letter, informing 
him of the death of his affectionate father ; 
and with it was a check for $500, — a part 
of his father's hard earnings. He drowned 
his grief in a Bacchanalian revel, that night, 
and in a few days was again penniless. 

Thus continued Mr. N. in the rapid career 
of crime, till he became a drunken and wan- 
dering outcast. In this condition, a letter 
reached him from his mother, containing 
$100, and informing him that she was fast 
sinking beneath disease, and entreating him, 
with all a mother's feelings, to come and see 
her before she died. The appeal moved 
him, and he took passage in a steamboat, to 
comply with her request. For two days he 
abstained from liquor, but his thirst now 
became insupportable, and he was soon 
intoxicated. He then madly sought the 
gaming-table, and before he was half way 
home, he found himself stripped of every 
cent, and unable to proceed. Shortly after 
his mother died, spending her last breath in 
prayer for her wretched child. 



144 the sinner's friend. 

The once aspiring and talented lawyer, 
who had moved in the first circles of society, 
was now employed on board a steamer, as a 
deck hand ; and even from this post he was 
soon discharged for drunkenness ! The 
dram-shop now became his home, and gam- 
blers and drunkards his only companions. 
But he was soon detected in passing a 
counterfeit bill, and brought before the 
criminal court of St. Louis, to answer to the 
charge. When the usual question was put 
to him, whether he was guilty or not, he 
replied, in the bitterness of his soul, " Guilty ! 
guilty ! " He was therefore convicted, and 
sent to the penitentiary, where he suffered 
the penalty of his crime.* 

I have placed the foregoing narrative at 
the head of this chapter, because it is a good 
illustration of the three principal points which 
I now wish to set before my readers ; viz., — 
what is meant by hardening the heart, the 
way in which it is done, and the consequen- 



f These instructive and interesting facts from his history, I 
have gathered from the eloquent address which he made be- 
fore the court at his trial. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 145 

ces of doing it. You behold a vast difference 
between the amiable and promising youth at 
school, and the guilty criminal at the bar of 
justice. What a change a few years wrought ! 
This, then, is what is meant by hardening the 
heart. You see, too, the successive steps by 
which he reached his climax of sin. He 
went on from one apparently small trans- 
gression to a greater one, and then to a still 
greater, at each step hardening his heart 
against the reproofs of his conscience and the 
admonitions of his friends. Here you have 
the process by which the heart is hardened. 
And, finally, you behold his prospects blasted, 
his character ruined, and guilt stamped upon 
his name ; his hopes for happiness in this life, 
and in the life to come (unless he repent and 
reform), for ever cut off. Here you see some 
of the consequences of thus hardening the 
heart. The narration, as a whole, is a 
striking illustration of that text, " He that 
hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. " 
Prov. 28 : 14. 

A block of granite, it is said, can be 
worked easier when just hewn from the 
12* 



146 the sinner's friend. 

quarry, than it can be afterwards. So it is 
with the human heart. As it comes from 
the hand of God it is tender, and susceptible 
to good impressions. But when exposed to 
the influences of sin, it readily hardens, and 
becomes so insensible that it is difficult to 
make a good impression upon it. Its entire 
nature seems to be changed, as in the case of 
the young man I have referred to. Instead 
of responding to the voice of God, it arms 
itself against him, and harbors thoughts of 
disobedience and treachery. Then it gathers 
fresh courage, and grows more obstinate and 
self-willed,— more dead to holiness, and more 
in love with sin. The once tender heart is 
now a stone. "Yea, they made their hearts 
as an adamant stone, lest they should hear 
the law, and the words which the Lord of 
hosts hath sent in his Spirit by the former 
prophets." Zech. 7: 12. The sinner has 
reached such a state that the thunders of 
God's wrath cannot move him, nor the sub- 
duing accents and generous tears of mercy 
melt him to repentance. 

Such a character as I have described 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 147 

recently murdered his own father ; and when 
condemned to death for the crime, he man- 
ifested the utmost indifference about his fate, 
and the absence of every thing like contrition, 
in view of his awful guilt. Even at the hour 
of his execution, the disgusting scene was 
presented, of a man whose minutes were 
numbered, and who was about to be ushered 
into the presence of an offended God, ex- 
pressing his admiration of infidelity, and his 
detestation of Christianity ; and but a moment 
or two before his death, he declared that if 
his father were yet alive, he would murder 
him, if he could. Dreadful depravity ! Truly, 
it is a dangerous thing to begin to harden the 
heart, if such are its results. 

"But," says one, "/have been brought 
up too well ever to fall into such an awful 
state as this." You are mistaken. Hardness 
of heart is frequently found in the midst of 
the greatest light. Think of the wonderful 
acts of God, performed in the sight of the 
Israelites, while on their way to Canaan ; and 
yet they hardened their hearts, and were a 
rebellious and backsliding people. Look at 



148 the sinner's friend. 



his dealings with them in subsequent ages, — 
his miracles of mercy, his terrific displays of 
wrath ; and yet there were unbelievers, and 
infidels, and idolaters, in the midst of all this 
light. In the days of our Saviour, too, what 
multitudes who beheld his mighty works, and 
listened to his heavenly discourses, steeled 
their hearts against him, and rejected the 
salvation which he brought to the lost. 
Stout-hearted sinners are often the very ones 
who have enjoyed the greatest privileges and 
means of usefulness. 

Another says, "I am young; J cannot be 
in danger from this evil." But most fearful 
specimens of hardness of heart are frequently 
exhibited among the young. I have before 
me an account of a murder committed not 
long since by a boy fourteen years of age ! 
The victim was another lad still younger, and 
the murderer deliberately aimed a gun at him, 
upon a slight provocation, remarking that he 
" had as lief shoot him as not." Are the 
young, then, in no danger of hardening their 
hearts, till they become like the adamant 
stone ? 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 149 



I have another illustration, which, though 
less striking than the preceding one, shows 
plainly how easy it is for the young to harden 
their hearts, and also to what an awful extent 
it may be done, without leading to any out- 
break of crime. Henry L was the son 

of a pious mother. He was well instructed 
in the principles of religion, and the watchful 
eye of his parent was ever on the alert, to 
warn him of his dangers, and prevent his 
falling into temptations. And yet he easily 
inclined to the path of vice, and began to 
form bad acquaintances. At the age of 
fourteen or fifteen, he was a great admirer of 
the theatre. But when he visited it, he 
would generally deceive his mother, by 
pretending that he had been to a religious 
meeting ; and so artfully did he manage this 
deception, that he could describe the meeting, 
recite the text, and mention the chapter and 
verse which contained it. Thus, by cun- 
ningly arranging his plans, previously, he 
went to the theatre when he chose, without 
even exciting the suspicions of his mother. 
He also sometimes visited dram-shops, and 



150 the sinner's friend. 



drank with his companions. In this way 
was this youth rapidly hardening his heart in 
sin, in the midst of abounding light, and pre- 
paring himself to work mischief with a high 
hand, when God was pleased to hear the 
prayers of his mother in his behalf (who little 
suspected the extent of his depravity, and 
his imminent danger), and to convert him 
from his follies. 

There can be no doubt, then, that the 
hardening process is always going on in the 
unconverted sinner's heart. Reader, if you 
are not a Christian, it is at this moment going 
on in your heart. True, you may never 
become so vicious and depraved as to fall 
into gross immorality and crime ; but still the 
work is silently going on. So defiling are 
the effects of sin upon the heart, that every 
one who would become pious, must have a 
"new heart." 

The chief reason why we should all dread 
to have our hearts become hard, is, that we 
should be left to commit sin with impunity. 
It is a sad thing to do evil ; but afterwards, 
in full view of the sin, to feel no concern 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 151 

about it, and no repentance for it, is an 
exceeding aggravation. There is nothing to 
restrain the sinner, since his conscience is 
seared, and his heart hardened. Especially 
is this true, if God does not interfere with his 
designs. They " put far away the evil day " 
of retribution, and become completely wed- 
ded to sin. " Because sentence against an 
evil work is not executed speedily, therefore 
the heart of the sons of men is fully set in 
them to do evil." Eccl. 8; 11, On this 
account, I consider the hardening of the 
heart as one of the most alarming consequen- 
ces of sin. It takes away, one by one, every 
hope of the sinner's conversion, and is a 
fearful omen that he is delivered over to 
destruction. 

But is not God sometimes said to harden 
the hearts of men ? A superintendent of a 
Sabbath school, wishing to illustrate this 
subject, once remarked, after the school had 
read the ninety-fifth psalm, that he had two 
specimens from the natural kingdom, to illus- 
trate the seventh and eighth verses. He 
then exhibited to them a piece of beech- 



152 the sinner's friend. 



wood, taken from the banks of the Ohio 
river, that had been subjected to the action 
of the water, but which, in consequence of 
the presence of some salts near the place, or 
from some other cause, had resisted this 
action, and, instead of dissolving as vegetable 
matter generally does in water, had become 
a hard stone. He also showed them a piece 
of moss, which, having fallen from the same 
tree, had experienced a similar change. 
Now, said he, every one knows that it is the 
nature of water to soften vegetable substan- 
ces ; and yet, when this process is resisted, it 
may produce an exactly opposite effect. So 
the Spirit of God, sent from heaven to strive 
with the sinner, may only become the instru- 
ment of hardening his heart, if resisted, 
though this is not its designed effect. This 
is one sense in which the Spirit of God is 
said to harden the heart. 

The judgments of God sometimes harden 
the hearts of men, when they would produce 
a very different effect, were those hearts in a 
proper state. Thus it was that God hardened 
the heart of Pharaoh. The displays of his 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 153 

power and his wrath, which he made before 
the Egyptian king, one would suppose, would 
have procured the release of Israel ; but as 
Pharaoh hardened himself, so the Lord per- 
mitted these very trials to harden him still 
more. It is a solemn truth, that those judg- 
ments and afflictions which God sends upon 
the sinner to soften and subdue him, will, if 
resisted, become the instruments of producing 
the very opposite effects. 

I think we are also taught in the Bible, 
that God sometimes directly hardens the 
hearts of great sinners, to punish them, and 
make them an example before the world, 
"Whom he will he hardeneth." Rom. 9: 18, 
When one has long hardened himself in sin, 
and shut his ears against the voice of God, 
his fellow-men, and his conscience, it is not 
strange if God makes use of him as " a vessel 
of wrath, fitted to destruction," and displays 
to the world the divine justice in his punish- 
ment. Thus was it with Sihon, king of 
Heshbon, who refused to let Israel pass 
through his realm, when on their journey to 
the promised land. Said Moses to the peo- 
13 



154 the sinner's friend. 



pie, concerning this king, " The Lord thy 
God hardened his spirit, and made his heart 
obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy 
hand." Deut. 2 : 30. A similar fate hap- 
pened to nearly all the kings of Canaan, 
whom Israel dispossessed. " It was of the 
Lord to harden their hearts, that they should 
come out against Israel in battle, that he 
might destroy them utterly." Josh. 11: 20. 
These were all exceedingly wicked men, and 
God thus hardened their hearts to their own 
destruction. 

Such is a feeble view of the hardening 
influence of sin ; and in closing, I cannot do 
better than commend to my readers the 
admonition of the apostle, — "Take heed, 
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil 
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living 
God. But exhort one another daily, while it 
is called to-day ; lest any of you be hardened 
through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb. 3 : 
12, 13. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 155 



CHAPTER IX. 

SIN DEBASES THE MIND. 

Original excellence of the mind — Effects of sin upon it — 
Reason or judgment perverted — The character of Christ 
applied as a test — The distinction between wisdom and 
folly lost — Also that between good and evil — The unhappy- 
father — The mind blinded and darkened — Skepticism — 
Atheism — The mind engrossed by earthly objects — The 
miser — Chief end of life — Exposure to error — To supersti- 
tion — Heathenish and Romish superstitions — Astrology — 
An illustration nearer home — Obtuseness of intellect — 
Insanity — Idiocy — The mind a channel of sin — A specimen 
— Prostitution of the mind to evil — The passions perverted 
to sin — Fearful power of these emotions — Concluding 
thought. 

The human mind is that part of our being 
which thinks and wills, remembers and rea- 
sons. In its original state, created without 
sin, and free from every infirmity, it might 
well be called a spark from the eternal 
Fountain of intelligence, — feeble, perhaps, at 
first, but destined to expand with rapidity, 
and become, at length, an exalted image of 



156 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 

Jehovah. But the touch of sin has been felt 
upon this, also, and its withering marks are 
left behind ; so that, in the language of the 
poet, Thomson, 

" now the distempered mind 
Has lost that concord of harmonious powers, 
Which forms the. soul of happiness ; and all 
Is off the poise within ; the passions all 
Have burst their bounds ; and reason, half extinct, 
Or impotent, or else approving, sees 
The foul disorder." 

Each faculty and power was created for its 
own sphere, and all were once in subjection 
to law ; but now there is a sort of rebellion 
within the mind. Anarchy and confusion 
have usurped the place of order and peace ; 
and healthful activity has given way to slug- 
gishness and stagnation. True, there is a 
vast difference in the minds of persons ; but 
all bear, in some degree, the impress of sin. 
Let us look at some of the particulars in 
which the mind has suffered. 

1. The first thing we notice, is, that we 
often find the reason or judgment so perverted 
and blunted, that it is unable to discern 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 157 

between right and wrong. This, certainly, 
must be the effect of sin upon the mind and 
heart ; for it is not the state in which Adam 
was created. This is exhibited very clearly 
in the case of those who grow up without the 
knowledge of the Bible. Those, too, who 
wilfully neglect it, are greatly exposed to the 
same evil. The distinction between right 
and wrong, in the minds of such, becomes 
less plain, as they accustom themselves to 
the latter. At length they cannot even dis- 
cern the difference between holiness and sin. 
If they read that the moral law is holy and 
perfect, they will dispute the fact, and per- 
haps suggest improvements. The complaint 
that was made of Ephraim, is applicable to 
them, — "I have written to him the great 
things of my law, but they were counted as a 
strange thing" Hos. 8: 12. If you point 
them to the beauty of the law, as exemplified 
in our Saviour, they realize no force in the 
illustration. " I see no beauty in Christ, that 
I should desire him," said an impenitent sin- 
ner, just on the verge of life. He declared 
his firm belief in the truths of the gospel, and 
13* 



158 the sinner's friend. 



the reality of future happiness and misery ; 
but his moral sense was so blunted that he 
could not perceive the beauty and excellency 
of holiness, or the hideousness of sin. I have 
heard people express the opinion that they 
could live even better than did our Saviour ! 
" He was, on the whole, an excellent man," 
they said, "but we discover serious faults in 
his character." I need not say, that no one, 
in his right mind, would ever make such a 
foolish remark as this, whose moral percep- 
tions of right and wrong were not almost 
obliterated. Such men might well attempt 
to polish the sun, or gild burnished gold, or 
paint in gaudy colors the most brilliant gems ; 
for they would improve that character which 
is brighter than the sun, purer than fine gold, 
and more beautiful than precious gems. 

2. The distinction between wisdom and 
folly is also frequently lost by the sinner. 
After he has pursued his own ways for a 
time, he seems to believe, — if we may judge 
from his conduct, — that there is no wisdom 
but sin, and no folly but holiness. The 
things of the Spirit are foolishness unto him ; 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 159 

but the artful teachings of Satan are all wis- 
dom. Even the preaching of the cross is 
foolishness to them that perish. No one can 
deny the truth of this ; and what a sad per- 
versity of mind does it exhibit ! 

3. Sinners frequently rejoice in evil, and 
mourn over good ; and this is another evi- 
dence that sin has debased their minds as 
well as souls. I have in my mind an indi- 
vidual, whose history is an exemplification of 
this truth. He has the appearance of one 
who is disgusted with life, and tired of exist- 
ence. He is miserable in his own mind, and 
morose in his disposition to those about him. 
And what is the cause of this ? Has he lost 
his property, or his health ? No, this is not 
his trouble. Have his children wandered 
into paths of vice, and thus planted thorns in 
his breast ? No, this is not his sorrow. But 
what is it? Why, poor man, his children 
have all been hopefully converted, and united 
with the church, and he alone is left behind. 
This is his sorrow. He would gladly have 
them join in the giddy dance, and mingle 
in the circle of fashion ; but they care not 



160 the sinner's friend. 

for these things. One by one they have 
renounced the world, and but lately the last 
and youngest, the only hope of his unhappy 
father, followed the steps of the others, and 
joined the church of Christ. To the per- 
verted mind of their parent, this act is their 
ruin ; and henceforth, unless he, too, shall 
experience a mighty change, there seems to 
be nothing in the world to smooth his declin- 
ing years. This is a strange picture, but it 
is a true one. 

4. The blindness and darkness of the 
mind is another of the effects of sin upon it. 
The Bible declares that men love darkness 
rather than light, because their deeds are 
evil. Our Saviour taught, that the design of 
the gospel is to open the eyes of men ; he 
came to preach receiving of sight to the 
blind. This language refers to blindness of 
mind, — not of the body. Paul speaks of the 
Gentiles, as " having the understanding dark- 
ened, being alienated from the life of God, 
through the ignorance that is in them, because 
of the blindness of their heart." Eph. 4: 18. 
For this reason, sinners blind themselves 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 161 

against the light of revelation, and refuse the 
warm and cheerful rays of the gospel an 
admittance into their hearts ; and soon they 
challenge divine truth, and question the real- 
ity of religion ; as the owl, 

" Sailing on obscene wings athwart the moon, 
Drops his blue-fringed lids, and holds them close, 
And hooting at the glorious sun in heaven, 
Cries out, Where is it? " 

The secret skepticism thus fostered, often 
manifests itself at an early age. Says the 
excellent Cecil,/' I never gathered from infi- 
del writers, while an avowed infidel myself, 
any solid difficulties, which were not after- 
wards brought to my mind by a very young 
child of my own." He therefore concludes 
that such infidel objections are the natural 
growth of fallen nature. 

But the blinded and insane mind does not 
stop here. Despising reason, revelation and 
God, it rushes with delirious fury against 
" the bossy shield of the Omnipotent," and 
toils "with dark and crooked reasoning," to 
aim a death-blow at the only hope of man, 



162 the sinner's friend. 

and exalt the idol, Chance, to the throne of 
the Almighty ! " No God ! No heaven ! 
No hell ! " is its blasphemous creed, its fear- 
ful motto. 

' 'Guilt's midnight wish ! last, most ahhorred thought ! 
Most desperate effort of extremest sin ! " 

5. Another evidence that the mind is 
debased by sin, is, that it is so engrossed 
with earthly and transitory things, and thinks 
so little of the excellence of heavenly and 
eternal realities. Though it is itself spiritual, 
yet how often is its range of thought confined 
to material objects. When the Duke de Alva 
was asked if he had observed a late eclipse, 
he replied that "he had so much to do upon 
the earth, he had no time to look up at the 
heavens." So is it with vast multitudes, 
whose minds are busy with trifles, while the 
solemn scenes of the world above are closely 
shut out from their view. They have no 
time to look above. Some are the slaves of 
Mammon ; and their minds are tasked only 
to increase their gold, or secure it safe when 
obtained. What an occupation, to be im- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 163 

posed upon an immortal mind ! In the 
newspapers of the day, we frequently meet 
with paragraphs like the following : 

"A desperate miser lately died in England, 
at the age of eighty-one. His death was 
occasioned by exhaustion, in consequence of 
denying himself the necessities of life." — "A 
miser, named Ashers, residing in a wretched 
hovel, near Nottingham, England, recently 
died from over-exertion, in carrying his coals 
from a distance, because he got them a half- 
penny cheaper. On searching his premises, 
money and property to the value of $5000 
were found." 

Thus have millions of our race, turning 
from every other object, bowed before the 
golden god, and sacrificed upon its polluted 
altar every thing that is good, — yea, life 
itself ; and, in the language of Pollok, 

" To complete the horrid, murderous rite, 
And signalize their folly, offered up 
Their souls, and an eternity of bliss, 
To gain them, — what? An hour of dreaming joy ; 
A feverish hour, that hasted to be done, 
And ended in the bitterness of wo." 



164 the sinner's friend. 

But the miser is not the only one whose 
mind is shrivelled up to the contemplation of 
earthly and material things. When Anax- 
agoras was asked to what end he was born, 
he replied, "To contemplate the sun, moon 
and stars." A very foolish answer, truly; 
but many who live in Christian lands, if their 
actions do not belie them, fall as far short of 
the true end of life as did this ancient heathen. 
One thinks he has no object to pursue but 
sensual pleasure : and he lives as though for 
this alone he was created. To another, this 
world is but a theatre, on which he is to win 
a few laurels of honor and glory. And a 
third lives as though he were placed here 
only to work evil. 

6. The liability of the mind to fall into 
error, is another evidence that all is not right. 
Having partially lost the distinction between 
right and wrong, and become blinded by sin, 
it is imminently exposed to embrace error, 
even when it seeks after truth. And then 
prejudice comes in, to blind it still more, and 
chain it firmly to its erroneous opinions. 
There is, probably, no truth in science, phi- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 165 

losophy or religion, which has not been furi- 
ously assailed and contradicted. There is 
no error, however absurd and blasphemous, 
which Satan ever suggested to the heart of 
man, which has not been defended. There 
is no scheme too wild and fanciful to allure 
the mind, no hope too groundless for it to 
embrace. How many rest their hopes of 
heaven upon a spider's web, which must 
inevitably be swept away at the hour of 
death, and all the while firmly believe them- 
selves eternally safe ! In their ignorance, 
they build an edifice on the sand, not know- 
ing that the floods and the tempests will 
soon destroy it. 

7. And, again, how many run into super- 
stitions and vagaries, to which a holy mind 
must be a stranger. Many of these supersti- 
tions are more cruel than death. Could you 
spend a week in India, and see with your 
own eyes the dreadful suffering which the 
worshipers of heathen gods inflict upon their 
own bodies, under the influence of a horrid 
superstition, your heart would sicken within 
you. But this evil also exists, though in a 
14 



166 the sinner's friend. 

less cruel form, in nominally Christian lands. 
In Russia, for instance, the people regulate 
their whole lives, and especially their domes- 
tic arrangements, not according to nature 
and reason, but by certain religious festivals, 
which are, once for all, established as the 
times for doing certain things. "Thus," 
says a traveler in that country, " cattle are 
turned out, not when there is grass for them 
to eat, but on the seventeenth of April, 
because it is St. Stephen's day, when the 
priest blesses and sprinkles them with holy 
water. In like manner, they do not begin 
ploughing when the weather is favorable, but 
on St. Gregory's day, who gives success to 
the operation. Apples are not gathered 
when they are ripe, but on the festival of 
Virgin Mary, in August. An apple eaten 
before that day is liable to operate like poi- 
son ; but aften it, unripe fruit is not hurtful, 
even to infants at the breast ; and if flux or 
inflammation ensue, and carry them off, it 
was the will of God."* 



* Kohl's Russia in 1842. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 167 

I mention this, not because it is a remark- 
able instance, but merely to illustrate the 
truth, that sin has strongly inclined the 
human mind to superstition. Volumes might 
be filled with similar accounts, collected from 
every quarter of the globe. Nor is this evil 
confined solely to the ignorant and degraded. 
The absurd system of astrology, which has 
for ages been so general, and even at the 
present day is in its pristine glory in Persia, 
originated with the wise men and philoso- 
phers of the earth. "The study of the 
heavenly bodies," says Rollin, in his Ancient 
History, "was so far from leading them, as it 
ought to have done, to the knowledge of him 
who is both their Creator and Ruler, that for 
the most part it carried them into impiety, 
and the extravagances of judicial astrology. 
So we term that deceitful and presumptuous 
science which teaches to judge of things to 
come by the knowledge of the stars, and to 
foretell events by the situation of the planets, 
and by their different aspects." To show 
what power this gigantic superstition has 
held over the minds of men, I will mention 



168 the sinner's friend. 



one fact. About five centuries ago, a great 
plague swept over the earth, which is sup- 
posed to have destroyed nearly 25.000,000 
of people; and the origin of this horrid 
distemper was completely accounted for by 
one Guy de Chaudiac, who maintained that 
it was occasioned by the grand conjunction 
of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, in the sign of 
Aquarius ! 

Even in our own land, and in the midst of 
the fight of New England, there are not 
wanting examples of superstition. It was 
but recently that a young woman died, in 
one of these States, in consequence of break- 
ing a looking-glass. The superstition which 
many people connect with an accident of 
this kind, so overpowered her feelings as to 
cause her death. But we find that in pro- 
portion as the light of the gospel spreads, 
and the minds of men become sanctified with 
religion, these weak superstitions give way, 
like mists before the rising sun. 

8. Obtuseness or stupidity of mind is 
another of the evils of our sinful state. " The 
ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his mas- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 169 

ter's crib ; but Israel doth not know, my 
people do not consider." Is. 1: 3. Thus 
the Scriptures represent the ox and the ass 
(counted generally among the most stupid of 
animals) as knowing more of their masters 
than the unenlightened sinner knows of his 
Maker. Sin has so blighted some nations 
and tribes, that there seems to be little or no 
difference between their intellects, and the 
sagacious instinct of the dog, the horse, and 
other intelligent animals. One of the greatest 
obstacles the missionary meets with, is the 
obtuseness and decay of intellect, caused by 
a life of heathenish degradation. 

9. The diseases to which the mind is 
subject, is another evidence that sin has 
wrought an unhappy change upon it. We 
are all exposed to insanity, — a mental dis- 
temper dreaded by all, even in its mildest 
forms. I will not harrow your feelings by 
attempting to portray the dreadful fury of the 
madman, or the black despair of the delirious. 
But could you spend an hour in an insane 
hospital, and see these sickening sights with 
your own eyes, you would confess that some- 
14* 



170 the sinner's friend. 

thing has made fearful havoc with the human 
mind. That something, — I need not tell 
you what it is. Scenes like these were never 
witnessed where God's law is not broken. 

Idiocy is another disease of the mind. 
Many are born in this state, and never can 
become capable of reasoning, inventing, com- 
puting, fee. Others, who once possessed a 
sound mind, have, when a sudden calamity 
overtook them, been in a moment deprived 
of this inestimable blessing, and become com- 
plete idiots. 

Such are some of the evils which the 
mind itself experiences, on account of sin. 
In addition to all this, it is also made a medi- 
um or channel of sin, and its noble powers 
are perverted to the basest ends. Take the 
power of imagination, for instance. How 
often is it suffered to linger around forbidden 
objects, till the sinner grows bold from famil- 
iarity with the sin contemplated, and at last 
plunges into guilt and ruin. Giving the reins 
to a wanton imagination, is one of the first 
steps in sin, and it has ruined thousands of 
young men and women, especially in large 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 171 

cities, where so many seductions are spread 
for youth. Thus this same attribute of the 
mind, which, when sanctified by religion, 
may plume its wing, and bear the soul to 
heaven, to enjoy the smile of God, and the 
society of the blest, is made the instrument, 
when under the power of sin, of plunging it 
into the deepest guilt. How important that 
the mind be redeemed from sin, and conse- 
crated to God ! 

We often see the truth, stated at the com- 
mencement of the last paragraph, illustrated 
in another way. The noble faculties of the 
mind are taught to wa,ste their energies in 
contriving evil, and exhaust their ingenuity 
in perverting that which is good. The 
blessings which Heaven showers down so 
plentifully upon us, are thus converted into 
ministers of evil. The Bible, intended to 
radiate heavenly beams upon our path, is 
made to shed an uncertain and flickering 
light ; and, like the oracles of ancient days, 
its utterings are applied by each to suit 
himself, and its teachings perverted to every 
base end. So strong is this tendency in the 



172 the sinner's friend. 

sinner's heart, that I verily believe, were the 
tree of life itself within the reach of man, its 
fruits would be distilled, and fermented, and 
worked upon, till, if it were possible, poison 
and death were produced from them. 

Thus far, I have spoken only of the 
intellectual powers of the mind, as suffering 
in consequence of sin. Before closing, I 
must say a few words concerning the pas- 
sions, as the various emotions of the soul are 
usually called. We find that these are all 
frequently perverted to sinful ends. Love 
is bestowed upon unworthy objects, and 
binds the sinner to his evil ways ; while pure, 
heaven-born affection often dies entirely out 
of his heart. Joy is frequently awakened 
by that which ought to call forth grief. 
Desire degenerates into lust and covetous- 
ness. Hatred, instead of being exercised 
towards that which is sinful, is directed even 
against God himself. Fear, instead of warn- 
ing the sinner of the evils of sin, often drives 
him from the company of the righteous. 
And hope, instead of being a star in the 
surrounding darkness, to cheer the soul, and 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 173 



invite to heaven, becomes a false beacon 
light, alluring into danger and death. We 
have already had occasion to illustrate the 
workings of several of these perverted pas- 
sions in the unsanctified heart, and have seen 
that they produce nought but evil and misery. 
They were given us for a very different end ; 
but the principle of evil within has claimed 
them as its own, and armed them against the 
best interests of the soul. Alas for the sinner, 
when these passions are completely under 
the power of the adversary ! 

Besides the emotions above enumerated, — 
all of which, in their pure state, exist in holy 
beings, — there are others, which sin has 
introduced into our minds, — such as anger, 
grief, envy, pride, jealousy, shame, discon- 
tent, despair, etc. These are all the direct 
offspring of sin ; and what a scorpion brood 
do they compose ! What numberless miseries 
do they inflict upon unhappy man ! They 
rudely trample upon every affection, and 
strip honor of her sacredness ; they dig the 
grave of happiness, and stab peace to the 
heart; they mock at goodness, and shoot 



174 the signer's friend. 



their poisoned darts into the bosom of inno- 
cence ; their commission is to ferment evil 
and to work sorrow and torment, and most 
faithfully do they fulfil it. They are, in 
short, the ingredients of hell. 

The power which the passions possess 
over the body is remarkable, and I cannot 
but regard this as another illustration of the 
derangement which sin has occasioned in 
our natures. There is scarcely a passion 
which may not, by excess of action, inflict 
an injury upon the body. Anger, grief, love 
and joy have frequently caused death. Even 
hope, when too strongly excited, has pro- 
duced insanity ; and several other of the 
emotions I have named have often inflicted 
serious injury upon those who too freely 
indulged them. 

I have thus endeavored to show my readers 
what effect sin has produced upon the human 
mind. When we contrast it with what it once 
was, and might now have been, and see the 
great change it has endured, we may well 
exclaim, " How is the gold become dim ! how 
is the most fine gold changed ! " Lam. 4:1. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 175 



CHAPTER X. 

SIN DEGRADING AND BRUTALIZING. 

Young Rupert and old Randal — The degrading tendency of 
sin — The inebriate — It is not necessary to be vicious, to 
be degraded — Effects of sin upon nations — A battle scene 
— Instruments of cruelty — A glance at the heathen world 
— How infidels account for man's degradation — The true 
solution of the mystery. 

A painter, wishing to draw a picture of 
innocence, selected for his model a little 
child, named Rupert, and represented him 
kneeling in prayer, with his mild blue eyes 
raised to heaven, and the palms of his tiny 
hands pressed together in reverence. A 
sweet expression of devotion, peace and 
innocence rested upon his countenance, and 
an additional interest was added to the scene 
by the tender look of his mother, at whose 
side he kneeled. When the portrait was 
finished, the painter hung it up in his study, 
and ever after he prized it very highly ; for 



176 the sinner's friend. 

he had spent much time and care upon it. 
He named it Innocence. 

Many years after, when the painter had 
become an aged man, he formed the design 
of painting a contrast to his picture of Inno- 
cence, which still adorned his study. For 
some time he sought for a striking illustration 
of his subject, but in vain. At length, how- 
ever, he accomplished his object by visiting 
a prison. Before him, on the damp floor of 
a dungeon, lay a wretched culprit, named 
Randal, who seemed the personification of 
degradation and guilt. His body was wasted, 
his cheek sunken and pale, and his eye 
expressed no emotion but that of complete 
and hopeless wretchedness. More than this, 
his face was stamped with vice, and infamy 
and guilt were branded on his brow. The 
painter seized his pencil, and having copied 
to the life the criminal before him, he bore 
the picture to his study, and placed it by the 
side of the other, calling it Guilt. 

But who, think you, was the young and 
lovely Rupert, whom the artist selected as a 
model of innocence and devotion? And 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 177 

who was the other, — that old and hardened 
culprit, loaded with irons, whose tongue 
uttered only blasphemies and curses ? Alas ! 
the two were one ! Young Rupert, the 
innocent, and old Randal, the guilty, were 
the same, though not the least resemblance 
could now be traced between the two. 

Young reader, I have transferred this 
striking story to my pages, as an illustration 
of the solemn truth, that sin degrades and bru- 
talizes those who indulge in it. A few years 
spent in the paths of sin and vice, produced 
the wonderful contrast exhibited in those 
portraits. Nor is this strange. It is the 
direct tendency of sin to degrade, as I shall 
endeavor to show, in the present chapter. 
It has sunk angels lower than the brutes ; 
and wherever it has gone, it has carried with 
it degradation, as well as wo. It lowers the 
sinner, not only in the opinion of all holy 
beings, but also in his own eyes, destroying 
his self-respect, as we saw in a previous 
chapter. 

Let us look first at the openly vicious. 
No one will dispute that they are descending 
15 



178 the sinner's friend. 

at every step. Mark the man who loves 
intoxicating drinks. Gradually his habit 
gains upon him, and steals away, one by 
one, every thing that constitutes a man. 
His affections, however strong and sincere, 
must give way, so that he can witness, 
unmoved, the sufferings of those whom he 
once counted more dear than his own life ; 
sufferings, too, inflicted solely by his own 
hand. His intellect, however highly endowed 
and liberally cultivated, must bow before the 
destroyer, and suffer itself to be consumed by 
the rust and corroding of neglect. His moral 
principles, — the legacy, it may be, of a moth- 
er now in heaven, — must be trodden down 
beneath the defiled feet of vice. Thus one 
noble attribute after another gives way before 
the flood of sin, till at length a clean breach 
is made over the miserable man. Robbed 
of his affections, his reason and his moral 
principle, stripped of his property and his 
apparel, and even with a body disfigured and 
a constitution ruined, — I ask, can you con- 
ceive of a degradation more vile than this ? 
Is he not sunk far below the brutes ? The 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 179 

same is true of those who fall into gambling, 
lewdness, or any other vice or excess. No 
wonder, then, that such are spoken of in the 
Bible as " natural brute beasts, made to be 
taken and destroyed," and who " shall utterly 
perish in their own corruption." 2 Pe. 2:12. 

But it is not needful to plunge into vice, 
to ascertain the fact that sin is degrading. 
Even those who are looked upon as moral 
and virtuous, are often the subjects of the 
same degradation, though not to an equal 
extent. If they do not obey that great law, 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself," then 
they debase their natures, and do violence to 
their own souls. Dr. South has drawn a 
brief but vivid picture of this degradation, in 
the following words : — " The wicked and 
sensual part of the world are only concerned 
to find room and scope enough to wallow in ; 
if they can but have it, whence they have it 
troubles not their thoughts ; saying grace is 
no part of their meal ; they feed and grovel 
like swine under an oak, filling themselves 
with the mast ; but never so much as looking 



180 the sinner's friend. 

up either to the boughs that bear, or the 
hands that shook it down." In the language 
of Go wing, the man of the world is " an 
immortal being, that would lose none of his 
most darling delights, if he were a brute in 
the mire ; but would lose them all entirely, if 
he were an angel in heaven. 5 ' Strange lan- 
guage, this ! but alas, it is too true. 

The evil of which I am speaking is fre- 
quently illustrated on a large scale, in nations 
and communities ; and it may be profitable 
for us, in the present case, to turn from our- 
selves, and look at men in classes. 

People have thought, in every age of the 
world, that powerful armies, and great terri- 
tories, and strong fortifications, and costly 
works of art, and boundless wealth and pros- 
perity, gave honor and dignity to a nation. 
But in the Bible we are taught better. We 
are there told that "righteousness exalteth a 
nation." If this is true, then is it not equally 
true, that sin degrades it ? What says the 
word of God ? "As they were increased, so 
they sinned against me; therefore will I 
change their glory into shame." Hos. 4 : 7. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 181 

This was spoken by a prophet of the Lord, 
concerning Israel. Another prophet, after 
mentioning the sins of the priests, says to 
them, in the name of God, " Therefore have 
I also made you contemptible and base before 
all the people, according as ye have not kept 
my ways." Mai. 2 : 9, Thus sin turned 
their glory to shame, and degraded them 
before the world. 

What a specimen of the worse than brutal 
degradation of man do we see in a battle ! 
Go with me, for a few moments, on board a 
man-of-war at sea. It is Sabbath morning, 
and the large crew, dressed in their holiday 
attire, are idling away the sacred hours. But 
suddenly the man at the mast-head discovers 
a sail in the distance. It excites curiosity, 
and is eagerly watched, till at last it is seen 
to be a large ship. All eyes are now strained 
toward it, and the sailors begin to whisper to 
one another their opinions respecting it. At 
length the captain inquires of the man at the 
look-out, " What does she look like ? " "A 
large frigate, bearing down upon us, sir," is 
the reply. Suspicions are now heard that 
15* 



182 the sinner's friend. 

she is an enemy ; and soon the command 
goes forth, "All hands clear the ship for 
action, ahoy ! " The drum beats to quarters, 
the horrid preparation commences, and soon 
all is ready for the work of death. The 
colors of the approaching ship are run up, 
and now all doubt is at an end. A battle is 
inevitable. There is not the slightest provo- 
cation by either. Neither party knows aught 
of the other, except that it bears the flag of a 
hostile nation. But this is enough, — they 
are enemies, by birth, fortune or fate, and the 
work of destruction commences. 

A few random shots are fired, as a prelude ; 
and then the hideous roar of cannon, and the 
whistling of balls in the air, stun and bewilder 
the senses. The ship trembles and rolls 
beneath the dreadful assault, and as the 
heavy shot strike her sides, she shakes to her 
very keel ; and a scene of horror and confu- 
sion ensues, beyond the power of description. 
To use the language of one who has himself 
witnessed such scenes, " it is like some aw- 
fully tremendous thunder-storm, whose deaf- 
ening roar is attended by incessant streaks of 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 183 

lightning, carrying death in every flash, and 
strewing the ground with the victims of its 
wrath." The iron hail and leaden rain fall 
thick upon the crew, and torrents of blood 
flow over the decks. The cries of the 
wounded and dying ring through the ship, as 
they are hurried below to the surgeon. Two 
boys, yonder, have fallen ; one was struck in 
the leg by a large shot, and must suffer the 
amputation of the limb ; the other is shot 
through the ancle, and must lose a foot. 
Another lad, who was badly burnt by pow- 
der, while lifting up his imploring hands in 
agony, is instantly cut in two by a passing 
shot. A man, one of whose hands was shot 
off a moment ago, is now horribly mutilated 
by another ball ; and as he cannot live, he is 
quickly thrown overboard by his comrades. 
The next victim is an officer, who is struck 
by a ball near the heart. The head of 
another is shot off, and a multitude of others 
have either fallen in death, or received their 
death-wounds. Still the survivors fight like 
tigers, and cheer and shout with all their 
might, apparently as merry and thoughtless 



184 the sinner's friend. 

as though it were all a sham-fight. But at 
last the work of carnage ceases, the victory 
is decided, and the flag of the conquered is 
struck. The proud frigate, which a few 
hours before was t freighted with peace, and 
hope, and pleasure, is now but a miserable 
wreck, — a floating hospital, — a theatre of 
death and wo. 

Perhaps this sketch, which I have taken 
from authentic history, will give the reader 
some feeble idea of a battle between two 
vessels of war. You will, with me, pray that 
you may never witness such a dreadful scene. 
But, after all, this is a small affair, in com- 
parison with wars and battles, where the 
slain have been numbered by tens or scores 
of thousands, and where cities, provinces and 
whole countries have been laid waste. And 
all this, reader, is the work of man, civilized 
man, — man, with the Bible in his hand ! 
Say, is not this degradation of the lowest 
kind ? Whence comes it but from sin ? 

Think, too, of the innumerable instruments 
of cruelty which man has invented to assist 
him in this savage, murderous work, and see 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 185 

another evidence of his degradation. He 
has taxed his ingenuity to the utmost, to 
provide means to beat, tear, bruise, pierce, 
cut, mangle, batter and destroy the human 
form. Should you visit some great national 
armory, — the Tower of London, for instance, 
— this thought would doubtless be deeply 
impressed upon you, as you beheld the array 
of cross-bows, halderds, arquebuses, haque- 
buts, demihaques, halberts, spears, daggers, 
swords, sabres, bayonets, lances, pikes, can- 
nons, muskets, howitzers, mortars, dragons, 
blunderbusses, pistols, carbines, thumb-screws, 
yokes, cravats, billhooks, glaives, gisarmes, 
iron maces, military forks, two-headed battle- 
axes, beheading axes, morning-stars, military 
flails, and tormenting catch-poles, which are 
there collected together. And yet these are 
only a few of the murderous artillery of war ! 
Do they not make man look like an ingenious 
but vindictive brute ? 

I have alluded to war as only one illustra- 
tion of the tendency of sin to debase and 
brutalize even Christian nations. But if we 
turn to heathen nations, what a spectacle of 



186 the sinner's friend. 

degradation do we witness ! Look at the 
Hindoos, with their three hundred and thirty 
million gods, of every size, shape and color, 
in forms human, half human, and brutal, with 
four, ten or a hundred eyes, heads and arms, 
— gods of folly and wisdom, — gods addicted 
to every crime ever conceived of by the vilest 
imagination, — gods armed with thunderbolts, 
scimetars, spears, clubs, shields, bows, jave- 
lins, flags and shells. Look at the Khonds, 
a tribe in India, who offer human sacrifices, 
and strip the flesh from their victims while 
yet alive, each bearing his part to his own 
field. Look at the river Ganges, whose 
waters are polluted by the bodies of the dead, 
and whose banks are lined by self-murdering 
devotees, or by dying wretches, many of 
whom are plunged into the waves by their 
relatives, ere life is extinct ; and all this that 
they may wash their souls from sin. Look 
at the car of Juggernaut, grinding hundreds 
beneath its ponderous wheels. Look at the 
Ashantees, in Central Africa, who sacrificed, 
a few years since, about one thousand human 
victims, on the death of their king. ,Look at 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 187 

the Feegee and other islands, where canni- 
balism still prevails to a frightful extent. 
Think of the thousands of children who are 
annually murdered by their parents in Asia, 
Africa and the isles of the ocean. The 
deities of these nations, — and I might also 
include those of the most civilized heathen of 
antiquity, — were they to become incarnate 
in a Christian land, would be speedily found 
in the State prison, or on the gallows. And 
yet those horrid characters have most lavishly 
received that honor which belongs to Jeho- 
vah alone. 

But my space will not permit me to speak 
longer of the four or five hundred millions of 
degraded pagans who are scattered over the 
earth. Language cannot describe their deg- 
radation, — words are too feeble to portray 
their wretchedness. Infidel philosophy, in 
contemplating this lamentable scene, has 
sometimes contended that men could not all 
have sprung from the same parentage, so 
great is the diversity of the human race, in 
this respect. Some have gone still farther, 
and maintained, with Lord Monboddo, that 



188 the sinner's friend. 

after all, man is but an educated ourang- 
outang, differing from the monkeys of Borneo 
only in the degree of his mental cultivation, 
and his progressive physical improvement! 
But reason, science and revelation alike con- 
demn all these infidel speculations. The 
Bible solves the mystery, and tells us why it 
is that a part of the human race are sunk so 
deep in degradation and darkness. It is 
because they know not God. Like that 
ancient idolater, Pharaoh, they say, "Who 
is the Lord that I should obey his voice? . . 
I know not the Lord." Ex. 5 : 2. It is 
the direct tendency of sin to reduce men to 
this condition ; and therefore we need not 
wonder at the result. Are we not right, 
then, in saying that "sin is degrading and 
brutalizing ? " 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 189 



CHAPTER XI. 

SIN THE PARENT OE ALL PHYSICAL EVIL. 

Adam a stranger to physical evils — The change wrought by 
sin — Enumeration of some of these evils — This earth not 
a suitable place for sinless beings — Severe toil — Indolence 
— Lack of the comforts of life — Testimony of a traveler — 
The savage Indian — Disease — Pain — Exposure to accidents 
— -A caution. 

We are now to contemplate the influence 
of sin upon the bodies of men. We have 
already seen that Adam was holy and happy 
when created. He was, of course, free from 
all bodily infirmities. He knew no pain, no 
sickness, no unsatisfied want, till after his 
fall. Every object in nature gratified his 
taste, awakened his delight, and administered 
to his happiness. His physical enjoyment, 
therefore, was far beyond any thing the most 
favored of us have ever experienced. 

But how different is the condition of man 
at the present day ! Turn which way we 
16 



190 the sinner's friend. 

will, we find the declaration of the ancient 
verified, — "Although affliction cometh not 
forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring 
out of the ground, yet man is born unto 
trouble, as the sparks fly upward." Job 5 : 
6, 7. This is another of the consequences 
of sin ; and we are again reminded by it that 
guilt and suffering must be for ever connected 
together. "Can a man take fire into his 
bosom, and his clothes not be burnt ? Can 
one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be 
burnt ? " Prov. 6 : 27, 28. No more can 
an intelligent creature transgress the laws of 
God, and not suffer in consequence. 

Let us now look at some of the different 
physical evils which man suffers. 

According to the fancy of the poet who 
sang of Paradise Lost, when Eve tasted the 
forbidden fruit, 

i ' Earth felt the wound, and nature from her seat 
Sighing, through all her works gave signs of wo, 
That all was lost." 

The earth, doubtless, underwent a great 
change after the fall. Not only was the 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 191 

ground cursed, and doomed to bring forth 
thorns and thistles, but I think there is reason 
to suppose that other disastrous physical 
effects followed, introducing jars and discord 
where all was once harmony and peace. 
The beasts of the earth, the fowls of the air, 
and the fish of the sea, are now leagued 
against man and against each other, and 
many of them are fired with an inveterate 
and fierce antipathy, which knows no re- 
straint. In almost every part of the earth, 
man is exposed, every year, to the burning 
sun of the tropics, or the freezing and deso- 
lating cold of the poles. Many are made 
sick, and some die, from both these causes. 
Even the air we breathe, — one of the best of 
Heaven's blessings, — is sometimes loaded with 
deadly pestilential poison. All nature thus 
testifies to man's fallen state. 

We have another testimony to the truth of 
our position, in the fact that God does not 
consider this world a suitable residence for 
holy beings, but intends to destroy or reno- 
vate it, after the reign of sin is over. " But 
the heavens and the earth which are now, by 



192 the sinner's friend. 



the same word are kept in store, reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment and 
perdition of ungodly men." 2 Pe. 3 : 7. 
After this, God is to provide "new heavens 
and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- 
ness/' — a world unstained by sin, and upon 
which no curse has ever fallen. This will 
be a fit habitation for holy beings. 

Severe toil is another of the physical evils 
brought upon us in consequence of sin. "In 
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," 
was a part of the curse pronounced upon 
Adam. But rny readers must not suppose 
that labor itself, when kept within proper 
limits, is an evil. God gave work to our first 
parents, while they were yet holy. They 
were placed in Eden " to dress it and to keep 
it." Indeed, we know that no rational crea- 
ture can long be idle and happy. But when 
a man is compelled to labor twelve, fourteen 
or sixteen hours a day, — to exhaust his 
strength to the utmost for a bare subsistence, 
to the entire neglect of his soul, — he is truly 
placed under a heavy curse. His bodily 
system is soon exhausted, his mental powers 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 193 

are blunted, and buried up in insensibility 
and grossness of feeling and perception. This 
is the unhappy condition of millions of our 
race, and has been from the earliest ages. 

There are other millions still, who suffer 
little less from a very different cause. I refer 
to those, who, finding themselves possessed 
of all they need, spend their days without 
toil or bodily exercise. As a consequence, 
they are afflicted with indigestion, disturbed 
sleep, bodily and mental debility, and at 
length, confirmed bad health, and death. 
True, both of these evils may, in a great 
degree, be removed at some future day. "It 
has been estimated," says Dr. Franklin, "by 
some political arithmetician, that if every 
man and woman would work for four hours 
each day, on something useful, that labor 
would be sufficient to procure all the neces- 
saries and comforts of life." But man must 
be made better than he is now, before such a 
change as this can be accomplished. 

The want of the comforts of life is another 
cause of a vast amount of suffering. When 
the prodigal wandered from his father's house, 
16* 



194 the sinner's friend. 



he wasted his substance, and was soon left in 
most abject poverty. Then " there arose a 
mighty famine in that land, and he began to 
be in want." He engaged in an occupation 
which, to a Jew, must have appeared most 
degrading; and even then, he well nigh 
perished with hunger, so that he desired to 
eat the miserable husks which he gave to the 
swine. So has it ever been in this world, 
since Adam's apostasy. When sin came, it 
brought with it barrenness, and drought, and 
famines, and consequently poverty, and want, 
and even starvation. 

Said a recent traveler, who had just re- 
turned from an extensive tour through some 
of the fairest and most lovely portions of 
earth, — "I never before had so deep and 
vivid impressions of the evils of sin. Often, 
when viewing the aspect of nature around 
me, — all so rich, so charming, and so capable 
of yielding every product of earth, — I have 
seemed to myself in the midst of paradise, 
and could hardly think it possible that the 
people could be otherwise than happy. But 
on turning to view the moral and social 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 195 

aspect of things, I have again and again 
been overwhelmed by the dark and gloomy- 
contrast. The people are poor, ignorant, 
degraded and miserable, beyond what I had 
before supposed possible. Family and do- 
mestic comforts are unknown ; children rag- 
ged, dirty, neglected ; houses and villages in 
ruins ; plains and valleys of exuberant fertility 
are lying waste and barren. Crowds of 
beggars are thronging on every side, and 
degradation and misery are every where 
visible. In a rich and fertile region beyond 
the Jordan, four hundred and sixty-six vil- 
lages have been found in ruins ; and no 
where, as I passed from Mount Lebanon, 
through Galilee and Samaria, to Jerusalem, 
did I witness one single mark of progress or 
improvement in any thing ; but every where 
the most affecting signs of decay and hasten- 
ing ruin. And this," he adds, "is all the 
result of sin." 

But this is not the worst condition to which 
sin has reduced mankind. The naked and 
savage Indian is a still more degraded being, 
as respects his physical condition. His long 



196 the sinner's friend. 

hair, uncombed, streams in the wind behind 
him. His skin, exposed to wind and rain, to 
the sun's fierce heat, and to the chills of 
winter, seems almost as hard as leather. 
Living in a miserable hut, and upon unwhole- 
some food, and often, from the precariousness 
of the chase, half-starved, he is wan and 
skeleton-like, and his sharp eye gleams with 
the fires of passion without intellect. He is 
a degraded and miserable being, till the glad 
tidings of salvation reach his ear, and the 
missionary lifts him from his moral and phys- 
ical ruin. 

Disease is another of the physical evils 
introduced by sin into this world. As ob- 
served at the commencement of this book, it 
is frequently caused directly by violating 
some natural law. Still, sin is the first 
cause ; for it leads us to break all kinds of 
law. If man had remained holy, he would 
not have sinned against his body. But now, 
almost from the first breath he draws, he 
begins to suffer from this cause. 

" Each season has its own disease. 
Its peril every hour." 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 197 

As the child becomes a man, he finds an 
almost innumerable number of diseases and 
infirmities crowding upon his path, and laying 
upon the sick-bed one and another of his 
companions. A day or two since, we saw a 
youth, upon whose cheek flushed the smile 
of health, and whose heart was as light and 
happy as the gay summer bird. His step 
was elastic, his arm was full of strength, and 
his eye kindled with joy. Where is he to- 
day? We call at his home, and in the quiet 
and darkened chamber we behold him, — but 
O, how changed ! A raging disease courses 
through his blood, his cheek is pale, his eye 
is glassy and motionless, his tongue seems to 
have forgotten its office, his arm falls palsied 
upon the bed, and perhaps his mind wanders 
in wild and painful delirium. Thus, almost 
in a moment, can disease subdue the strength, 
and beauty, and health of youth. 

The pain which generally accompanies 
disease, renders it a still more grievous evil. 
It is surprising what intense suffering the 
body of man is capable of enduring, when, 
shattered by disease, each nerve seems to be 



198 the sinner's friend. 



laid bare, and each pore of the skin becomes 
an avenue of exquisite pain. Such as this 
was the suffering of Dr. Payson, a short time 
before his death, when it seemed to him as 
though streams of molten lead were rushing 
through his bones. 

The accidents to which we are exposed, 
form another part of our physical evils. Our 
bodies are " crushed before the moth." We 
are exposed to casualties on every side ; and 
whichever way we turn, we know not that 
we shall escape them. In the house and by 
the wayside, on board the vessel and in the 
rail-car, awake and asleep, we cannot avoid 
the exposure, nor foresee the accidents which 
may occur. I need not say that this was 
not the lot of Adam in his original state. 
He knew no danger but that one against 
which God had warned him; and he had 
nothing else to fear. 

Before closing this chapter, I would guard 
the reader against one error. Let no one 
suppose, from what has been said, that we 
can judge of a person's sins by the amount of 
bodily suffering he endures. God does not 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 199 

mete out strict justice in this life. Though 
he causes the first fruits of sin to be reaped 
here, yet the full harvest is reserved till after 
death. Then we shall all reap what we have 
sown, and the full measure, too, which 
belongs to each one of us. It will then 
appear that many who have passed through 
the greatest trials here, and received little 
else but sorrow and tribulation, were the 
purest spirits of their time, and the most 
loved of God. 



200 the sinner's friend. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SIN OFTEN FOLLOWED BY SPECIAL JUDGMENTS. 

Another effect of sin — Scripture proofs — Scripture illustra- 
tions, national and individual — Pagan history — Nero — The 
great robber — A speedy judgment — Eugene Aram — A slow 
retribution — Recollections of an execution — Awful end of 
an infidel — No sinner exempt from danger — The application 
brought home. 

We come now to another illustration and 
proof of that remark of Solomon, " Evil pur- 
sueth sinners." Prov. 13 : 21. We shall see 
that justice and wrath often overtake the 
wicked in this life, in the form of afflictions, 
judgments, or calamities. God is omniscient, 
and he knows the full extent of their guilt. 
He is a righteous Judge, and often causes the 
guilty to be overwhelmed in trouble and 
destruction. 

The following texts of Scripture, selected 
from a great number, form the foundation of 
what I shall say, on this subject. " He taketh 
the wise in their own craftiness ; and the 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 201 



counsel of the froward is carried headlong.'' 
Job 5: 13. "But if they obey not, they 
shall perish by the sword, and they shall die 
without knowledge." Job 36: 12. "There 
is no soundness in rny flesh, because of thine 
anger ; neither is there any rest in my bones, 
because of my sin." Ps. 38: 3. "'Fools, 
because of their transgression, and because of 
their iniquities, are afflicted." Ps. 107: 17. 
" And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither 
will I have pity : but I will recompense thy 
ways upon thee, and will judge thee according 
to thy ways ; and will recompense upon 
thee all thine abominations." Ezek. 7: 4. 
"Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of 
rebuke." Hosea 5:9. " Therefore also will 
I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making 
thee desolate because of thy sins." Micah 
6: 13. 

The Bible is full of illustrations of these 
passages, in respect both to classes of men, 
and to individuals. It tells us of a whole 
world, with the exception of one family, 
overwhelmed with a terrible flood, on account 
of sin; of the destruction of the rich and 
17 



202 the sinner's friend. 



populous cities of the plain, from the same 
cause ; of the most powerful nation then on 
earth, writhing under a series of judgments, 
which finally spread consternation over the 
whole land ; of another nation, brought almost 
within sight of the goodly land of their inher- 
itance, and then, for their rebellion, compelled 
to turn back into the wilderness, to encounter 
its perils and privations for forty years, and 
there at last to lay their bones ; and, finally, 
it tells us of the droughts, the famines, the 
blastings, the mildews, the pestilences, and 
the unsuccessful wars, which came upon the 
same people at a later time, in consequence 
of their sin. 

The Bible also contains many examples of 
the punishment of individuals for their sins. 
It was a saying of Flavel, " God hangs up 
some eminent sinners in chains, as a spectacle 
and warning to others." Such was Haman, 
who lost his life on the gallows he had erected 
for the pious Jew. Such was the haughty 
Nebuchadnezzar, who was suddenly humbled 
by a most wonderful visitation of God's hand, 
being thrown into a state of madness or idiocy, 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 203 

in which he remained for seven years, — the 
companion of the beasts of the field. Such 
were Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the 
Holy Ghost, and were struck dead. And 
such was the proud and impious Herod, who 
was smitten by the angel of God, and eaten of 
worms, while he sat on his throne, arrayed in 
royal apparel, and revered by the people as a 
god. These are striking illustrations of that 
Scripture anathema, " Wo unto the wicked ! 
it shall be ill with him ; for the reward 
of his hands shall be given him.' 5 Is. 3 : 11. 

In the histories of the ancient heathen 
nations, we see this same truth illustrated in 
a variety of instances. Indeed, when we read 
of those who have stained their lives with vice, 
and cruelty, and wickedness, we always expect 
to see some fearful judgment overtake them, 
before they leave the world. The fate of 
Nero, — that murderous tyrant, who sported 
with the misery of his subjects, and whose life 
was one continued series of horrid crimes, — is 
perhaps the most striking instance on record 
of extreme vengeance overtaking extreme 
guilt. As he had exhausted the utmost pos- 



204 the sinner's friend. 



sibilities of crime, so he himself was compelled 
to drink of the cup of suffering to the last drop 
his nature could sustain. He beheld his em- 
pire wrested from him, and to escape a still 
more dreadful death, he was compelled, after 
intense suffering of mind, to stab himself. 
After death, an expression of horror was im- 
pressed upon his stiffening features, which 
deeply affected every beholder. 

I have before me several striking cases of 
retributive justice, which have occurred in 
more modern times, and select four, illustrating 
two important truths, — that sin is sometimes 
followed by immediate retribution, and that 
justice, though long delayed, never fails ulti- 
mately to expose crime. 

About the year 1500, a man by the name 
of Stammato formed the project of robbing 
the famous treasury of St. Mark, belonging to 
the republic of Venice, which was then at the 
pinnacle of her greatness. He entered the 
cathedral by false keys, and after long and 
patient toil, continued through several nights, 
he at length beheld the almost countless 
treasures of the wealthiest state in the Chris- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 205 

tian world spread before him. Stammato 
succeeded in carrying away an immense 
booty, consisting of precious metals, and jew- 
els, and rare articles, to the value of two 
million of golden ducats ; and, what is most 
strange, the robbery was not discovered. He 
might now have easily left Venice, and en- 
joyed his vast wealth in some other land, so 
far as conscience would permit. But, as is 
frequently the case, the sudden possession of 
great wealth appears to have destroyed all 
powers of judgment ; and the man who had 
baffled Venitian vigilance, was utterly unable 
to refrain from communicating to some other 
person the secret of his success ! Exacting a 
solemn oath of secrecy, he disclosed the whole 
transaction to one of his countrymen, named 
Grioni, and took him to the place where he 
had deposited the treasure. An expression 
which flitted over the face of Grioni, caused 
Stammato to think that he had bestowed his 
confidence unwisely, and he was about to stab 
him to the heart, and thus add a still worse 
crime to his guilt, when the former excused 

himself by saying that the sight of so much 
17 * 



206 the sinner's friend. 

wealth had struck him with the most over- 
powering feelings. Stammato then presented 
him with a valuable carbuncle, with which, 
having got rid of the donor's company, he 
hastened to the ducal palace, and made known 
to the government the extraordinary depreda- 
tions which had been committed upon the 
public property. The robber was immediately 
arrested, and shortly after was hung, the rope 
with which he was executed having been 
previously gilt, that he might exhibit in his 
death a memorial of the passion which had 
seduced him to destruction. Thus, before he 
had an opportunity to enjoy any of the fruits 
of his success in wickedness, a terrible judg- 
ment overtook him, and in a moment he found 
himself a ruined man. 

But the judgments of God are not always 
so speedy in overtaking the sinner. Years 
sometimes roll away, and every thing goes on 
prosperously, between the commission of sin, 
and the blow of justice. In the year 1745, a 
most atrocious murder was committed in Eng- 
land by a schoolmaster named Eugene Aram. 
The murdered victim, who had recently come 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 207 

in possession of considerable property, was 
missed by his neighbors, but it was supposed 
he had gone abroad ; while Aram, with his 
accomplice, retired unsuspected to a distant 
part of the kingdom, to enjoy their ill-gotten 
wealth. Thirteen years passed on, and the 
sudden disappearance of the murdered man 
was forgotten by those who formerly knew 
him. But God had not forgotten it, nor did 
he intend that the murderer should go unpun- 
ished, even in this world. By a singular train 
of providential events, the bones of the mur- 
dered man were at length discovered, where 
they had been buried ; and the skull was 
found to be fractured by a blow, thus putting 
it beyond doubt that he had been murdered. 
The accomplice of Aram being suspected, he 
was arrested, betrayed his guilt, and confessed 
that he saw Aram murder the man. The 
latter was immediately arrested, tried, con- 
victed, and sentenced to death. Just before 
the sentence was to be executed, he attempted 
to take his life by his own hands ; but, while 
yet alive, he was discovered, and suffered the 
penalty of the law, August 6, 1759, and was 



208 the sinner's friend. 

afterwards hung in chains in Knaresborough 
forest. 

In my childhood, I witnessed the execution 
of one who suffered for a similar crime. He 
had been concerned with others in the murder 
of a respectable and wealthy citizen, whose 
blood they shed in his own house, at midnight. 
But a terrible retribution awaited them. God's 
never-sleeping eye looked down when that 
death-blow was struck ; he marked the mur- 
derers ; and though their crime was committed 
in the secrecy of darkness, unseen by mortal 
eye, he quickly brought it to light. I shall 
never forget the impression made upon my 
mind, as I saw one of the murderers walk 
from his cell to the gallows. He was in the 
vigor of youth and health, and belonged to a 
respectable family ; and had he but chosen 
virtue instead of vice, innocence instead of 
guilt, and friends instead of companions* he 
might have occupied a high station in society. 
But he chose the path of sin, and his sun, at 
midday, was extinguished in fearful clouds. 



*" Only wise and good men can befriends ; others are but 
companions." 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 209 

I cannot refrain from adding one other 
illustration, which occurred since the foregoing 
pages were written, and which utters a warn- 
ing too solemn to be soon forgotten. It is 
contained in the following paragraph, taken 
from one of our religious papers, and the fact 
is well authenticated. 

" Swift Retribution. — On Friday even- 
ing, 19th ult., on board the packet-boat 
Onondaga, a man died in a very sudden and 
awful manner. He had taken the liberty to 
avow himself an infidel, and to pour the most 
horrid anathemas upon Christianity and its 
Author, and was exceedingly enraged against 
any that dared to reprove him. While en- 
gaged in this wickedness, and while in the 
very act of cursing the followers of Christ, he 
fell upon the deck of the boat, and instantly 
expired. All present, says the individual who 
gave us the facts in the case, were admonished 
of the truth of that declaration, 6 God is not 
mocked.' He made himself signal in showing 
his hatred of God, and was himself suddenly 
made an exhibition of his power. Let every 
reader beware how he tempts the Almighty." 



210 the sinner's friend. 

"But these/' you say, "were all great sin- 
ners ; and no wonder that they were overtaken 
by terrible judgments. Surely I shall never 
be guilty of crimes that would call down upon 
my head such a fearful retribution." True, 
all these were guilty of great crimes ; and 
you, perhaps, have been guilty only of those 
sins which are common to youth. But, reader, 
there is a passage in the Bible which seems 
to have been put there expressly for such as 
you. I will repeat it. " There were present 
at that season some that told him of the Gali- 
leans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with 
their sacrifices. And Jesus, answering, said 
unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans 
were sinners above all the Galileans, because 
they suffered such things ? I tell you, Nay ; 
but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the 
tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye 
that they were sinners above all men that 
dwelt in Jerusalem ? I tell you, Nay ; but 
except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 
Luke 13 : 1-5. My friend, unless that heart 
of yours is purified by the blood of Christ, 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 211 

you have no security that it will not yet lead 
you into vices which now are a loathing to 
you, and crimes, the mention of which chills 
your blood with horror. 

But think again. Perhaps you have com- 
mitted sins already, which in some other cases 
have been punished with heavy judgments. 
Did you never tell a lie ? Gehazi was struck 
with leprosy, which cleaved to him through 
life, for telling a lie. Did you never seek to 
confirm a falsehood by that common impreca- 
tion, " I hope to die if it is not so ? " I have 
heard of such self-imprecations before ; and I 
have also heard of their being followed by 
instant death. In the town of Devizes, in 
England, there is a monument erected to 
commemorate an event of this kind, and to 
stand as a warning to all who behold it ; and 
a similar instance is said to have occurred in 
Pennsylvania, but a short time since. Were 
you never guilty of breaking the Sabbath ? 
Not long ago, nearly the whole of one of the 
most beautiful and prosperous villages in this 
State was laid in ashes, and nearly two hun- 
dred families turned from their homes, because 



212 the sinner's friend. 

a few men and boys, instead of remembering 
the Sabbath day to keep it holy, spent it in 
amusement and labor. Did you never steal ? 
Our jails and prisons are full of those who 
have been overtaken in the same crime. Did 
you never mock and insult old age ? I need 
not remind you of the fate of those forty-two 
children, whose cry was, " Go up, thou bald 
head." I presume you have been guilty of 
most of these sins ; do not suppose, then, that 
you are in no danger of God's judgments. It 
was discovered, a great many ages ago, that 
" they that plough iniquity, and sow wicked- 
ness, reap the same ; " and though the seed 
may be comparatively small, the harvest will 
be abundant. 

You know not, my reader, what retribu- 
tions God may bring upon you, even in this 
world, if you longer remain in sin. Although 
it is not an invariable rule that the wicked 
are visited in judgment here, yet it is so com- 
mon a one, that there is always reason to fear 
it. The Lord may frustrate your plans, 
blight your hopes, and remove the dearest 
objects of your affection. He can do all this, 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 213 

and much more. It is thus that he has ever 
dealt with his enemies. This world has been 
justly termed a vast sepulchre. It is indeed 
a tomb, not merely of the mortal part of man, 
but of his hopes, his honors, his pleasures and 
his wealth. God will not let the sinner alone, 
and if you determine to transgress his laws, 
abuse his love, and reject his offers of mercy, 
you must expect to feel the weight of his 
wrath. 

18 



214 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

SIN THE PARENT OE DEATH. 

Visit to a death-bed — Sin the cause of death — An inquiry 
disposed of— Brevity of life — Various forms of disease — 
Accidents — Death always near — An unpleasant truth — 
Universal fear of death — Sin the sting of death — Experience 
of Voltaire, Gibbon and Newport — The sinner loses all at 
death — Queen Elizabeth, Adrian and Beaufort — A scene at 
the excavation of Pompeii — Another visit to the death-bed 
— A message from God — Preparation for death — Illustra- 
tions of the infatuation and ignorance of man — The sinner's 
only hope. 

Come with me, reader, to the bed of death. 
An immortal soul is just struggling to leave its 
prison-house ; a frail body is yielding up its 
brief existence. The steps of the last enemy 
are approaching, and every new symptom of 
dissolution strikes terror into the spectators, 
and spreads gloom through the silent dwelling. 
How anxiously does the dying man watch the 
countenances of his friends, as they stand by 
his side, observing the rapid progress of death ! 
His physician reluctantly informs him that he 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 215 

can do no more for him ; and the last lingering 
hope is given up. His senses now begin to 
fail, and his intellect is at times deranged. 
The eye grows dim, the voice becomes almost 
extinct, and the limbs and trunk are motion- 
less. Now, in the language of another, " his 
friends,his relatives, his children, crowd around 
his body, shed their unavailing tears over him, 
and receive his last blessing. His pulse beats 
a surrender to the pale conqueror ; his eyes 
swim ; his tongue falters : a cold sweat be- 
dews his face ; he groans ; he expires ! " 

Such is death, — such the doom passed 
upon all mankind. As we turn away from 
the mournful scene, let us not try to banish 
the solemn impressions it naturally makes on 
our hearts ; but rather let us ask, Why is it 
that this awful doom is passed upon man ? 
Why must J pass through this painful, this 
agonizing scene, and suffer my soul and body 
to be riven asunder, — the one to appear before 
its Creator, the other to be given to corrup- 
tion ? The answer to this question you will 
find in the word of God. " Sin, when it is 
finished, bringeth forth death" James 1 : 



216 the sinner's friend. 

15. What emphatic language! Sin is the 
parent of death ; and hence the indissoluble 
connection between the two. By another 
Scripture figure, death is represented as the 
wages of sin. As a remuneration to the sinner 
for the services he renders to Satan, he re- 
ceives in the end death, temporal as well as 
spiritual. " For the wages of sin is death." 
Rom. 6 : 23. Well did the wise man say, 
" He that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his 
own death." Prov. 11: 19. 

Perhaps some inquisitive reader is ready to 
ask, " What, would Adam have remained on 
the earth to the present time, if he had not 
sinned ? " This is a question which it is not 
needful for us to answer. I would simply 
say, God might have removed him to the 
heavenly world in some such manner as he 
did Enoch and Elijah ; or, if he was to leave 
his tabernacle of clay behind, the fears and 
terrors now associated with the transition 
process might have been unknown. Be this 
as it may, we know that sin has brought death 
into the world, and that " death passed upon 
all, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5 : 12. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 217 

We no sooner begin to live than we begin 
to die. " The longest life is but a lingering 
death. 55 In the language of Holy Writ, " Our 
days upon earth are a shadow. 55 Job 8 : 9. 
They are " swifter than a weaver 5 s shuttle. 55 
Job 7:6. " They are passed away as the 
swift ships ; as the eagle that hasteth to the 
prey. 55 Job 9 : 26. " As the cloud is con- 
sumed and vanisheth away/ 5 so do we disap- 
pear. Job 7 : 9. We are as " the morning 
cloud, and as the early dew that passeth 
away ; as the chaff that is driven with the 
whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke 
out of the chimney. 55 Hos. 13 : 3. Every * 
thing that is fleeting and transitory, every 
thing that is frail and helpless, is used as an 
emblem of man's life. 

" I have seen the morning vapor 

Scattered by the eye of day ; 
I have seen the evening taper 

Shine, and glimmer, and decay ; 
And bethought me, as I stood, 
These are man's similitude." 

The measure of our life is a hand-breadth ; it 
is a tale that is told ; its rapidity is like the 
IS* 



218 the sinner's friend. 

swift shuttle or the flying arrow ; it is brief as 
the fading flower, or the transitory rainbow, 
or the dazzling meteor ; it is a bubble ; it is a 
breath. At every swing of the pendulum, a 
spirit goes into eternity. Between the rising 
and the setting of every sun, 43,000 souls are 
summoned before their Creator. Death is 
ever busy, night and day, at all seasons, and 
in all climes. True, as well as beautiful, are 
those lines of Mrs. Hemans, — 

" Leaves have their time to fall, 

And flowers to wither at the north-wind's breath, 
And stars to set, — but all, 
Thou hast all seasons for thy own, 0 death !" 

He is supplied with a boundless variety of 
darts and arrows, with which he accomplishes 
his work. Could all the forms in which death 
comes to man be written together, what a 
long and fearful catalogue would it make ! 
Think of the innumerable number of diseases, 
all at the command of death. And, as though 
these were not sufficient, see how man is 
exposed to fatal accidents on every hand, and 
at every moment. It was a saying of Flavel, 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 219 

that " the smallest pore in the body is a door 
large enough to let in death." " The least 
gnat in the air/' says the same writer, " may 
choke one, as it did Adrian, a pope of Rome. 
A little hair in milk may strangle one, as it 
did a counsellor in Rome. A little skin of a 
raisin may stop one's breath, as it did the lyric 
poet, Anacreon." A little " hang-nail " on 
a finger recently proved the avenue of death 
to a physician of this city, who was in the 
vigor of life and health. Even the food we 
eat to nourish us, and the air we breathe, may 
introduce death into our systems. And though 
every thing else should fail to harm us, we 
might fall beneath our own hands, should God 
permit a cloud to pass over our reason. O, 
how insecure is life ! how near is death ! 
What has been said of the mariner in respect 
to his ship, that " he always sails within four 
inches of death," may be said of the soul, in 
relation to the body. If the ship split, then 
the sailor sinks ; if our earthen vessel break, 
the soul is plunged for ever into the shoreless 
ocean of eternity. Were our senses not 
benumbed and deadened, we should be con- 



220 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



stantly reminded of this danger. We should 
read a warning in every sere leaf, and hear 
an admonition in every wind that sighs. Even 
sleep. - nature's sweet restorer." would be as 
a nightly monitor of death. — an ever-present 
emblem of mortality. 

These are truths familiar to all men ; but 
they are generally unpleasant ones. There 
is constantly going on a warfare against them. 
" All that a man hath will he give for his life." 
Job 2 : 4. The world are busy in erecting 
barriers against the encroachments of death. 
Though but few of them, like certain Chinese 
philosophers, expect to discover an elixir 
which shall make them immortal, yet nearly 
all wish to postpone the evil day as long as 
possible. Death does not seem to them like 
a i: sleeping child " or ' ; beautiful youth/' as 
the ancient Grecians painted him, but rather 
like a frightful skeleton, arrayed in terrors. 
They cannot endure the thought, that while 
they are full of anticipations of coming years, 
the shaft of the insatiate, archer may be even 
now quivering on its string, and already aimed 
at the shining mark. It is said of one who 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 221 

was eminently successful in obtaining wealth, 
influence and honor, that when he reached 
the climax of his glory, being asked if there 
were any thing wanting to complete his hap- 
piness, he replied, " I am soon to die." This 
was the fatal worm at the root of his happi- 
ness. This thought dashed to the earth his 
brightest hopes. 

Even royalty cannot protect itself against 
the fear of death. Louis XI, of France, was 
so fearful of death, that so often as it came 
into his physician's head to threaten him with 
it, he put money into his hands to pacify him ; 
and in this way his physician amassed a large 
fortune in a few months. Another king of 
France absolutely forbid an allusion to death in 
his presence. Catherine, late empress of Rus- 
sia, made it a penal offence for a funeral pro- 
cession to pass her palace, and commanded 
that the dead should be buried in the night. 
Truly, death is terrible to the unprepared. 

"The sting of death is sin." 1 Cor. 15: 
56. Yes, death has a sting, and this is the 
reason why men fear it so. Only let this be 
removed, — and there is One who can pluck 



222 the sinner's friend. 



it out. — and death loses nearly all its terrors. 
The Christian can breathe his soul out as 
calmly as though he were sinking into a 
peaceful sleep. But not so with the sinner. 
He dreads and fears the hour. It is not 
merely that he must part with friends whom 
he loves ; neither is it the pains of dissolution. 
-Men who have sundered all the ties of friend- 
ship, generally have the same fear of death 
that other men have. And as to the pains of 
death, there is reason to suppose that in many 
cases the bodily suffering endured by the dying 
man is but slight ; and frequently death does 
its work without producing any pain at all. 

It is sin, then, that makes death terrible. 
It was sin, and nothing else, that made Vol- 
taire, the celebrated infidel, look back in his 
last moments upon his past life with remorse, 
and forward with dismay. It was sin that 
made him wish for annihilation. It was sin 
that caused Gibbon, another famous infidel, 
to leave this world in a state of gloomy 
despondency, destitute of all hope and conso- 
lation. It was sin that extorted that awful 
wish from Sir Francis Newport, when dying, — 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 223 

" O, that I were to lie and broil upon that fire 
for a hundred thousand years, to purchase the 
favor of God, and be reconciled to him again ! 
But it is a fruitless, vain wish ; millions of 
millions of years will bring me no nearer the 
end of my tortures than one poor hour." It 
was sin that forced from him that dreadful and 
almost unearthly groan, when he exclaimed, 
just before his departure,^ " Oh, the insuffera- 
ble pangs of death and damnation !" 

There is another consideration which we 
must not forget. Death not only summons 
the sinner to the presence of his offended 
Maker, but it robs him for ever of those things 
which he called his own on earth, and which 
he madly endeavored to make his gods. 

" The countless treasures of his care, 
Hamlets and villas green and fair, 

His mighty power, — 
What were they all but grief and shame, 
Fears and a broken heart, when came 

The parting hour !" 

Elizabeth, queen of England, with every thing 
in her power that heart could wish, — except 
one thing, — exclaimed, on her dying bed, — * 



224 the sinner's friend. 

"Millions of money for an inch of time 1 99 
Miserable woman ! she had wasted seventy 
years in her ambitious pursuits ; and now, 
though she could command the wealth of a 
vast realm, she was too poor to purchase even 
an inch of time, to devote to preparation for 
another world. She must part with all her 
riches, and go, poor and unpardoned, into the 
presence of her Judge. So fared it with 
Adrian. " Oh, my poor wandering soul ! " 
he cried, " alas ! whither art thou going ? 
Where must thou lodge this night ? Thou 
shalt never jest more, never be merry more !" 
And thus was it, too, with Cardinal Beaufort, 
who was extremely rich, and who cried out 
upon his death-bed, " Will not death be hired ? 
Will money do nothing ? Must I die, that 
have such great riches ? If the whole realm of 
England would save my life, I am able, either 
by policy to get it, or by riches to buy it." 

That was an instructive scene, witnessed 
at the excavation of the city of Pompeii,* 

* I would remark, for the information of my younger read- 
ers, that Pompeii was an opulent and splendid city, suddenly 
destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in the year 79. 
The ruins were not discovered till the year 1713. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 225 

when the workmen discovered, in a spacious 
cellar, beneath one of the dwellings, the skel- 
eton of the master of the house, his hands 
grasping coins and jewels and his coffer keys, 
and a slave behind him with bronze and silver 
vases. A skeleton grasping the glittering 
trifles of this life ! What a comment upon 
the weakness of man, and the vanity of this 
world's riches ! O, what are these things to 
the dying man, about to render up his final 
account ! 

Youthful reader, come with me again to 
the bed of death. Shrink not from the sight, — 
it is one that we may often witness with profit 
to our souls. Come, and hear a sermon more 
solemn and pointed than ever fell from human 
lips. Come, listen to an appeal which the 
hardest heart cannot wholly withstand. God 
speaks, amid falling tears, and aching hearts, 
and departing life. What does he say ? Ah, 
he reminds you of that truth which I have 
endeavored to impress upon your hearts, — ? 
man is a sinner. And is this all ? No, there 
is a voice still more loud and earnest, crying 
in your ears, Prepare to die. Yes, you too 
19 



226 the sinner's friend. 

must die. No matter how perfect your health, 
or how ardent your hopes, — each one of you 
has already set out on the highway of death ; 

4 4 And your hearts, though stout and brave, 
Still, like muffled drums, are beating 
Funeral marches to the grave." 

And how will you prepare to meet your 
Maker? Pause, and consider this question. 

Many are the ways in which men seek to 
prepare themselves for death. Some have 
sought a preparation that would enable them 
to meet the common foe with a dignity suita- 
ble to their station. Thus, a Roman emperor, 
having been told by certain priests that he 
would commit suicide, furnished himself with 
ropes of gold and purple, and golden swords, 
and poisons enclosed in jewels, that he might 
die with imperial dignity. But, poor man, 
after all his solicitude, he was murdered, and 
his body was dragged through the common 
sewers by ropes that had neither purple nor 
gold in their base composition. Others have 
sought to meet death with good grace and 
taste. Such was the preparation of the ancient 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 227 

gladiators, who studied how to die in graceful 
postures, and who thickened their blood by a 
peculiar diet, that it might flow slowly from 
their wounds, and prolong their agonies, for 
the gratification of the barbarous spectators. 
Some have looked to an earthly fame, to 
enable them to die in peace. Such was the 
miserable preparation of BufFon, who said, 
when speaking of the respect Europe had 
paid to his talents, " I am not afraid of death, 
and am consoled by the thought that my 
name will never die." Poor comfort, indeed, 
he afterwards found this ; for when some 
verses on the immortality of the soul were 
read in his presence, he smiled, and acknowl- 
edged that " religion would be a valuable gift 
if this were true." Others have endeavored 
to prepare themselves for the great change by 
administering to their souls, in their last mo- 
ments, some soothing balsam of Satan, or 
quieting opiate of error. So did Voltaire, 
who unburdened his mind by confessing to a 
priest, and who earnestly desired his physician 
to procure for him a treatise against the eter- 
nity of future punishment. Others cultivate, 



228 the sinner's friend. 

as their preparation, an utter contempt of 
death, — a brutal thoughtlessness of their 
eternal destiny. This was recently illustrated 
by a notorious English gambler, who is said 
to have exhibited, in his dying moments, " a 
frightful anxiety as to the result of certain 
races then taking place ! " The Roman 
Catholics, too, — needing something, as a sub- 
stitute for true religion, to enable them to 
meet death calmly, — have invented a peculiar 
preparative, in the form of a " sacrament," 
called " extreme unction," which, they say, 
" gives grace to die well." The same end is 
sought in Mohammedan countries by long 
pilgrimages, and painful fastings, and oft-re- 
peated but heartless prayers ; and in heathen 
lands, by cruel tortures, and bloody altars, 
and idle ceremonies. 

Such are a few of the ways in which 
infatuated, ignorant and unhappy man has 
sought to prepare himself for death. What an 
illustration do they present of the dreadful 
ruin sin has brought upon the race ! How 
melancholy the spectacle, to see immortal 
souls rushing into death like a beast to the 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 229 

slaughter, wholly regardless of the future, or 
else building their hopes for eternity upon a 
mere shadow, which may vanish from their 
view even before their eyes are sealed in 
death. But there is a preparation for death 
which is adequate to support and comfort the 
soul in its last moments. There is a founda- 
tion, — a well tried corner-stone, — upon which 
if a man build, not death or hell shall be able 
to move him. Reader, may that firm founda- 
tion and that unfailing preparation be yours ! 
May you die the death of the righteous, and 
may your last end be like his ! 
19* 



230 the sinner's friend. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

SIN FUNISHED AETEB DEATH. 

Death not the end of sin — Doctrine of universal salvation — 
Only those who believe will be saved — The second death 
—The judgment — Its retributions eternal — What the Bible 
says about it — The character of God requires the punish- 
ment of the finally impenitent — A universal sentiment in 
the human breast — Nature of the sinner's punishment- 
Bodily suffering — Mistake of the heathen — Mental or 
spiritual suffering — Remorse and despair — Tormenting 
reflections — Scripture emblems of hell — No escape from 
this punishment — Prayer of a lost spirit — A reflection on 
the awful end of sin. 

We have glanced at some of the principal 
evils which sin brings with it in the present 
life. We have seen that it is an evil and 
bitter thing, — that its effects are blighting, 
withering, deadening, and terribly destructive, 
in the end bringing forth death. But shall 
we stop here ? Has sin finished its work, 
when the body is deposited in the grave? 
Some answer, yes ; but such, we believe, 
have fallen into a great and lamentable error. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 231 

They suppose that the impenitent sinner re- 
ceives all his punishment in this world, and 
that hereafter he will be delivered, in some 
way or other, both from sin and suffering. 
But is this true? It is not taught in the 
Bible; and if reason ever teaches it, it is a 
reason like that of the little child, who believes 
that the mountains which bound the prospect 
from his father's dwelling, are the limits of the 
globe, and the little rill that runs through the 
valley, the river which waters all the nations 
of the earth. Those who believe this doc- 
trine, must take a narrow view of the subject. 
Is the remorse of conscience, the fear, the 
shame, the anxiety, which torment a man 
detected in crime, the penalty of the violated 
law ? When he stands at the bar of justice, 
does he plead how much he has suffered from 
these causes, as a reason why he should not 
be sentenced ? No more can the sinner prove 
that these incidental evils are the full penalty 
of the law. It must not be forgotten that this 
life is a state of probation, not of retribution. 

But perhaps some think death is the end of 
sin, because Christ came to save the lost, and 



232 the sinner's friend. 



died to deliver us from endless wo. True, he 
has done all this ; but even this will not save 
a single soul, till something more is done. If 
a king should promise full pardon to a band 
of rebels, on condition that they lay down 
their arms, and submit to his government, this 
offer would not save their necks from justice, 
unless the terms were complied with. Nay, 
if the king were firm and consistent, it would 
seal their doom, should they fall into his hands 
in war. So the sinner has terms to comply 
with. He must believe now, if he would be 
saved hereafter. God has threatened him 
with evil, only evil, and evil continually, so 
long as he continues in sin. He has never 
told him that death will be the end of his 
sorrows. Jesus Christ has never promised to 
save a soul that does not believe on him. 
" He that believeth not shall be damned.' 5 
Mark 16 : 16. " He that believeth not the 
Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God 
abideth on him." John 8 : 36. " He will 
thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his 
wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the 
chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. 3:12. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 233 

This is all the language of our Saviour ; and 
it is too plain to be misunderstood. 

There is, then, a second and far more ter- 
rible death awaiting the impenitent. Sin is a 
disease which, unless healed by the blood of 
Christ, kills the soul as well as the body. 
When a certain Italian, — thrusting his dagger 
into the heart of an enemy whom he had just 
persuaded to renounce the Saviour of the 
world, — boasted that he had a sweet revenge, 
as he had destroyed, at one stroke, both soul 
and body, he did only what Satan does with 
multitudes. If he can but persuade a sinner 
to reject Christ till the moment of death, he 
is satisfied ; for then the same shaft consigns 
to death both soul and body. 

We are taught in the Bible that a day is 
appointed, in which God will judge the world 
in righteousness. Although there is probably 
a particular and individual judgment passed 
upon each person at death, yet God has 
determined that there shall be a general judg- 
ment, at which all mankind shall appear, and 
receive each his appropriate sentence ; thus 
vindicating the divine justice before the as- 



234 the sinner's friend. 

sembled universe. There will then be no 
escape from justice. The impenitent sinner, 
who may have possibly escaped many of the 
incidental consequences of sin in this life, will 
now be brought to a stand in his career. As 
he looks around upon that vast collection of 
immortal beings, he cannot find one that loves 
him or cares for him. His associates in guilt 
are too much absorbed in their own sorrow to 
sympathize with him ; and the righteous can- 
not do it. He is self-condemned. Should 
he attempt to justify himself, his own mouth 
would condemn him, and his words prove him 
perverse. Nor can he find a false witness to 
testify in his favor, or a single flaw in the law 
through which to escape. " The heaven shall 
reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up 
against him." Job 20: 27. Horror and 
despair gather upon his countenance, as he 
takes his place at the left hand, and hears 
that fearful sentence fall from the lips of Him 
whom he rejected and condemned on earth, — 
" Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 
Matt. 25: 41. 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 235 

After the solemn retributions of the judg- 
ment, the eternal state of all mankind will be 
for ever fixed. The righteous, or those who 
have repented of their sins in this world, will 
enter upon the joys of heaven, and be eternally 
happy. The wicked, or those who do not truly 
repent in this life, will be cast into " the lake 
of fire," and be eternally miserable. These 
are not shut out of heaven, and then annihi- 
lated, though even this would be a great 
punishment ; but they are doomed to live in 
utter despair, experiencing the torments of a 
guilty conscience, and the wrath of an offended 
God. 

Many people deny the truth of this doc- 
trine ; and as we have several good reasons 
for believing it, we will look at some of them 
for a moment. 

1. The Bible teaches it, in such passages 
as the following. " The soul that sinneth, it 
shall die." Eze. 18: 4. " He that, being 
often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall 
suddenly be destroyed, and that without 
remedy." Prov. 29: 1. "Who shall be 
punished with everlasting destruction from the 



236 the sinner's friend. 

presence of the Lord, and from the glory of 
his power." 2 Thes. 1: 9. "The wicked 
shall be turned into hell, and all the nations 
that forget God." Ps. 9: 17. "Wide is 
the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to 
destruction, and many there be that go in 
thereat." Matt. 7 : 13. "And cast ye the 
unprofitable servant into outer darkness ; there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
Matt. 25: 30. "And the smoke of their 
torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and 
they shall have no rest day nor night." Rev. 
14: 11. " The angels shall come forth, and 
sever the wicked from among the just, and 
shall cast them into the furnace of fire." 
Matt. 13 : 49. 

These are but a few of the passages in the 
Bible which teach that the sinner will suffer 
for his wickedness after death. The opposi- 
tion made by the wicked to the instructions of 
Moses and the prophets, Christ and the 
apostles, — the anxiety of many for their own 
salvation, when awakened by the preaching 
of holy men, — and the great solicitude for the - 
salvation of souls which Christ and his disci- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 237 

pies manifested, confirm us in the belief that 
the doctrine of universal salvation was not 
taught in Bible times, unless it were by false 
teachers. 

2. The character of God seems to require 
the future punishment of the wicked. We 
know that God is just ; but we also know 
that he does not dispense strict justice to men 
in this world. The wicked sometimes rule, 
and seem to have their own way, for many 
generations, while the righteous are trodden 
under foot. We can account for this only by 
supposing that a great day of reckoning is to 
come, when every man shall receive accord- 
ing to his deeds. I would refer my readers 
to the seventy-third psalm, for proof of this. 

3. The universal belief of pagan nations, 
in every age of the world, though not of itself 
conclusive, is good collateral evidence of the 
truth of this doctrine. There, seems to have 
been originally a sentiment implanted in the 
breast of man, that just retributions await him 
in the life to come ; and this sentiment has 
been perpetuated and handed down, and be- 
come almost a part of man himself. 

20 



238 the sinner's friend. 

These are the principal reasons why we 
believe that the wicked will be punished 
hereafter. We may now inquire, what is the 
nature and extent of this punishment? In 
answering this inquiry, we must turn to the 
word of God for wisdom, nor venture to go 
beyond what he has revealed. 

Bodily, suffering will probably form a part 
of this punishment. The resurrection bodies 
of the righteous are particularly spoken of in 
the Bible ; but concerning those of the wicked 
little is said. As the former will be glorious, 
and susceptible of the highest happiness, some 
have supposed the latter will be hideous, and 
capable of intense suffering. They will rise 
from their graves to " shame and everlasting 
contempt/' And as the lust of the flesh 
often tempted the soul to sin, the body will 
doubtless participate in the punishment. No 
creature of God, — not even a drop of water, — 
will be permitted to administer comfort to a 
sinner after his probation is closed. 

But here the heathen have made a great 
mistake. They have generally supposed the 
whole punishment of the sinner to be corpo- 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 239 

real. Their notions of future misery have 
been set forth in the descriptions they give of 
one who was fastened to a wheel, and rapidly 
and continually whirled about ; of another, 
who was set in water up to his chin, with 
apples hanging to his very lips, yet had no 
power either to stoop to the one, to quench 
his raging thirst, or reach the other, to appease 
his craving appetite ; of others, who were 
condemned in hell to fill a barrel full of holes 
with water, which ran out again as fast as it 
was filled ; of one who was compelled to roll 
a great stone up a steep hill, which, when it 
was just at the top, suddenly fell down again, 
and so renewed his labor ; and of another, 
upon whose entrails a vulture fed continually, 
while they grew again as fast as devoured. 

These specimens are gathered from the 
fables of ancient heathen nations ; but similar 
notions often prevail at the present day. The 
Chinese believe there are ten hells, which are 
thus described by Dr. Morrison, the mission- 
ary : " One is stuck full of knives ; another, 
an iron boiler full of scalding water ; another 
of cold ice ; in another, the punishment con- 



240 the sinner's friend. 

sists in pulling out the tongue ; another is full 
of poisonous serpents ; in another the victim 
is drawn in pieces ; another is a hell of black- 
ness and darkness. " The Mohammedans be- 
lieve in seven hells ; and their Koran teaches 
that he who is punished most lightly will be 
shod with shoes of fire, the heat of which 
will cause his skull to boil like a cauldron ! 

But these are not the teachings of the 
Bible. The misery of the lost will be princi- 
pally mental or spiritual. There is reason to 
believe that thought is immortal, and can 
never be banished from the soul. If so, every 
sinful thought that has passed through the 
mind in this world, will rise from its grave, 
and stand before the sinner, to torment him. 
There will be no river of oblivion, as some of 
the ancients taught, of which he may drink, 
and forget the whole of the past. Conscience 
will inflict upon him torments of which we 
cannot now conceive. The sinner will abhor 
himself, and be hated and despised, even by 
his demoniacal associates. Every faculty of 
the spirit will be, as it were, a living nerve, 
exposed to the most exquisite pain, and every 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 241 

breath a flame of fire. Not only deprived of 
every thing good, he will suffer every thing 
that is terrible. Despair will meet him at 
every hand. Henceforth and for ever his 
employment will be weeping and wailing, 
cursing and accusing. His only companions 
will be devils and the damned ; and his por- 
tion, hopeless misery. Faint, indeed, are the 
most vivid conceptions we can form of such 
an awful state. 

Lost spirits will have clear convictions of 
sin, and will be conscious of the black malig- 
nity of their hearts. Those who once lived 
in Christian lands will recollect the kind 
admonitions of the people of God, and re- 
member that salvation was once within their 
reach, and they rejected it. " Ye knew your 
duty, but ye did it not," — these words will 
for ever echo through the caverns of perdi- 
tion, and thunder in the ears of the lost. 
They will also be tormented with raging de- 
sires that cannot be gratified ; with the thought 
that God, from whose face they are banished, 
overrules their sin and misery for his own 
glory and the good of the righteous ; and it 
20* 



242 the sinner's friend. 

may be, to complete their misery, they will 
have a view of the righteous in glorious felic- 
ity. Thus abandoned to sin, their state must 
be wretched beyond conception. When we 
recollect that the worst incarnation of Satanic 
malignity which has ever cursed this w^orld, 
was not entirely abandoned to his sin, — that 
God did not withdraw every restraining influ- 
ence even from him, — we can form some 
feeble idea of the state of those who are 
utterly given over to work unrighteousness in 
the prison-house of despair, and who are like 
" raging waves of the sea, foaming out their 
own shame." Jude 13. 

The most terrible and affecting metaphors 
and types are used in the Bible, to represent 
the misery of the lost. The ceaseless fires 
and putrefactions of the valley of Hinnom 
were thus employed. This valley was situated 
near Jerusalem, and was the receptacle of all 
the filth and rubbish of the city, to consume 
which perpetual fires were kept up. It was a 
place full of abominations ; and to a Jew it 
was revolting beyond expression. Hence its 
name, Gehenna, or Tophet, was applied to 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 243 

hell itself. A variety of other metaphors are 
also used, to represent the sinner's doom. It 
is called " death," " worm that never dieth," 
"bottomless pit," " blackness of darkness,' 5 
" lake of fire and brimstone," " fire that never 
shall be quenched," " vengeance of eternal 
fire," " furnace of fire," " fire prepared for the 
devil and his angels," &lc. These are figura- 
tive expressions, and must not be understood 
literally ; but yet they are burdened with a 
fearful meaning. Here we are not permitted 
to feel the full weight of the evil which sin 
would naturally work in us. If we sin against 
the body, mercy is ever ready to ease the 
pain and heal the wound. If we sin against 
the soul, mercy whispers forgiveness, and thus 
consoles the burdened spirit. But not so in 
the world of wo. There are no cures for the 
wounds of sin there, — no balm for the wounded 
spirit. Sin will work the full measure of its 
own misery, and thus verify the expressions 
quoted above. 

And from this dreadful state there can be 
no escape. Their punishment will be endless, 
their doom fixed unalterably. The Bible does 



244 the sinner's friend. 

not speak of an age of future bliss, or of years 
of misery ; but its language is, — eternal life, — 
eternal death. In this world, prisoners will 
sometimes counterfeit repentance and reforma- 
tion, and even religion, that they may be 
delivered from confinement. But there will 
be no counterfeiting religion in hell. No door 
of delivery will ever be opened. There may, 
perhaps, be petitions and cries for mercy. 
Indeed, one petition has reached us from the 
world of wo ; and it is worthy of our notice. 
It is not addressed to the great Sovereign of 
the universe, but to a created being ; as though 
the wretched suppliant dare not lift his voice 
in prayer to Him whom he had despised and 
dishonored on earth. Nor did he plead for 
deliverance from his torture, for salvation, for 
eternal life. Ah no, these were blessings he 
dare not even think of. His only request was 
for a drop of water, to cool for a moment his 
terrible agony ! Let this be a lesson to us ; 
and may it produce that effect on our hearts 
which our Saviour designed. 

Let no one think that, in thus dwelling on 
the misery of the lost, the subject affords any 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 245 

thing like gratification to the writer, except so 
far as the triumph of justice and righteousness 
is concerned. There is no chord in his soul 
that can respond to these solemn truths but in 
mournful notes. Indeed, he has written these 
pages as one who trembles lest he may be 
recording his own doom. But a deep con- 
viction of the truth of these things has induced 
him to speak plainly. It is his desire that 
every one who opens this book may be im- 
pressed with the dreadful ruin sin brings upon 
the soul. And how can this be done better 
than by holding up for contemplation the awful 
spectacle of a ruined soul, — its hopes dashed 
to perdition, its faculties blasted for ever, its 
affections turned to fiendlike hatred, its powers 
all employed in blaspheming its Creator, and 
in tormenting itself and its wretched asso- 
ciates ? I ask you to turn from this sad scene, 
and measure, if you can, the infinite evil of 
sin. Well may we exclaim, with Bunyan, 
" Man knows the beginnings of sin, but who 
can tell the issues thereof! " Verily, 

" She weaves the winding sheet of souls, and lays 
Them in the urn of everlasting death ! " 



246 the sinner's friend. 



CHAPTER XV. 

REFLECTIONS ON THE RESULTS OF SIN. 

Recapitulation of the effects of sin — Justice of the punish- 
ment — Sin a great evil — Folly of sin — Its deceitfulness — 
Its blindness — Its madness — Its deadly nature — The sinner 
wrongs his own soul — Sin destroys happiness — Man not 
created to be unhappy — No true happiness without God — 
False pleasures of sin — Melancholy, dejection and ennui 
— Fifty years' experience of a king — INo happiness in 
heaven for a sinner — Thought for an incredulous youth — 
Disease long concealed — Vesuvius, before and after its 
first eruption — Danger often unseen — Sin not a small 
thing, as some imagine — Great effects from apparently 
small causes — The eight stages of sin. 

The Bible declares that "the way of 
transgressors is hard." Prov. 13 : 15. In 
the foregoing chapters we have had abundant 
illustration of the truth of this text. We 
have seen that sin not only deprives us of 
God's approbation, but exposes us to the 
terrors of his wrath, and the influence of 
Satan; that it awakens remorse, fear and 
shame, in the breast of the sinner; that it 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 247 

sears the conscience, hardens the heart, 
debases the mind, and degrades the whole 
man : that it is the author of all bodily suf- 
fering, and often brings special judgments 
upon the sinner ; that in the end it brings 
forth death, after which it will draw down 
upon the impenitent the full weight of the 
wrath of God for ever. This is a severe 
punishment; but is it not just? Who dare 
say that the penalty exceeds the guilt ? The 
fact that God has thus ordained the penalty 
of sin, is sufficient proof of its justice. " Shall 
not the Judge of all the earth do right ? " 
Gen. 18: 25. Who knows better than he 
what sin is, and what protection it is neces- 
sary to station around his holy law ? He is 
the last being that could wish to see a crea- 
ture unhappy; but he esteems his law of 
vastly more importance than the happiness 
of a rebel, or a multitude of rebels. Is not 
this right ? The sinner alone is responsible 
for the sufferings he endures. He is not 
compelled to sin by any other being, but 
every act of transgression is voluntary. The 
child who disobeys a wholesome rule at 



248 the sinner's friend. 

school, and is punished, should not blame 
the teacher who made the rule, and who 
enforces it for the good of the whole; he 
should blame no one but himself for the pain 
he endures. So with the sinner. Whatever 
he may think of the Bible, he cannot open 
his lips when it says, " Even as I have seen, 
they that plough iniquity, and sow wicked- 
ness, reap the same. By the blast of God 
they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils 
are they consumed." Job 4 : 8, 9. 

There are several important thoughts, 
suggested by this subject, which claim a 
separate chapter; and I would now direct 
the reader's attention to them. 

1. If the punishment of sin is such as has 
been described, then we cannot doubt that 
sin is a terrible evil. Were it a trivial thing, 
God would treat it as such. Were it a mis- 
fortune to which man is exposed, and which 
he could not escape, his punishment would 
be undeserved. But we find nothing in the 
Bible that relieves the blackness of sin,— 
nothing that encourages us for a moment to 
look upon it as a misfortune, to be pitied 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 249 

rather than condemned. It is condemned 
every where in the Bible, — unequivocally 
and sternly condemned. It is every where 
held up as the great abomination of this 
world, abhorred by God above every thing 
else, and the grand cause of all the ills of 
life. It is nothing less than robbery commit- 
ted against God! "Will a man rob God?" 
says Jehovah; "yet ye have robbed me." 
Mai. 3:8. It is high treason against Heav- 
en ! "I have nourished and brought up 
children, and they have rebelled against me, 
saith the Lord." Is. 1: 2. We here see the 
truth of that remark of Owen, " He that hath 
slight thoughts of sin, never had great 
thoughts of God." 

2. Sin is great folly. David once had 
occasion to say, " O God, thou knowest my 
foolishness ; and my sins are not hid from 
thee." Ps. 69 : 5. There was never yet a 
sinner, with an enlightened conscience, who 
has not felt the folly of sin. How great was 
the folly of Adam ! and how must he have 
looked upon it, after he began to experience 
the bitter fruits of sin, when he contrasted 
21 



250 the sinner's friend. 

his unhappy situation with what it was before 
his sin. He transgressed God's command 
that he might become wiser ; but he became 
a fool. Nor is their folly much less, who 
madly persist in the ways of sin, even after 
they have begun to experience the bitter 
fruits of such a course. They turn their 
backs upon heaven, and rush on through the 
thorny path of sin, amid dangers, and death 
itself, as though it conducted to glory. They 
had rather "feed on ashes," in the service of 
Satan, than fare on heavenly manna and 
living water, among the people of God. 
They cheerfully and patiently wind about 
themselves the cord with which Satan is 
binding them for a terrible sacrifice. Among 
the curious sights which Bunyan's pilgrim 
saw, was an aged man, with his muck-rake, 
gathering up a few straws, regardless of the 
crown of glory suspended over his head by 
angel hands, and which he might have 
secured, had he raised his eyes from his 
grovelling and earthly employment. O, the 
folly of sin ! What a miserable bargain do 
they make, who barter away heaven, and 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 251 

the favor of God, for a few years of sin and 
folly ! Compared with this, Esau's folly, in 
parting with his birthright for a dish of pot- 
tage, was wisdom itself! See, then, why it 
is that the Bible so often calls irreligious men 
fools. They are fools indeed, — " the laugh- 
ing-stock of devils. 55 

3. We see the deceitfulness of sin. It 
makes many fair promises, but fulfils none of 
them. Says Bishop Reynolds, " There is 
no real fruit in sin ; the promises thereof are 
all false and deceitful. Gehazi promised 
himself gain, but got the leprosy. Balaam 
pursued honor, but met with a sword. Achan 
found a wedge of gold, but it cleaved asunder 
his soul from his body. The only fruits of 
sin are shame if we repent, and death if we 
do not repent. 55 And yet, evident as this 
truth is, how few believe it ! This leads us 
to notice, — 

4. The blindness of sin. As I have before 
said, Satan puts out the eyes of his captives, 
and leads them at will. They do not wish 
to know the truth. They prefer darkness 
rather than light, because their deeds are 



252 the sinner's friend. 

evil. Thus they crowd on to perdition, and 
believe it not till they have reached the end 
of their course. 

5. We here see the madness of sin. He 
who lays violent hands on his body, inflicting 
painful injuries upon it, is deemed a madman ; 
— why not he who destroys his soul ? Is it 
not the height of madness to pursue a course 
which leads to such evils as we have recently 
contemplated ? Truly, " madness is in their 
heart while they live." Eccl. 9:3. I know 
not that I ever heard of a more striking case 
of real madness, than that of a sailor who 
recently died, lamenting with his last breath 
that he had lost fifteen dollars' worth of 
pleasure, he being compelled to leave that 
amount of cash behind him, unspent. Is not 
voluntary madness like this more to be dread- 
ed than that of the unfortunate lunatic, who, 
by an inscrutable providence, is deprived for 
a time of his reason ? 

6. Behold the deadly nature of sin. The 
Indians say that an arrow poisoned with the 
venom of a rattlesnake will carry death with 
it for ages afterwards. But the venom of sin 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 253 

is more fatal than this ; it carries death with 
it for ever. " Sin, when it is finished, bringeth 
forth death," — certain, inevitable and eternal 
death, unless timely repentance arrest the 
progress of the fatal disease. 

7. It is evident that the sinner wrongs his 
own soul, by adhering to his evil ways. He 
not only cheats it of that, the want of which 

" Is worse than hunger, poverty and pain, 
And all the transitory ills below," 

but he afflicts it with numerous positive evils. 
" He that sinneth , against me, wrongeth his 
own soul ; all they that hate me love death." 
Prov. 8 : 36. God said to his ancient peo- 
ple, when they departed from him, " O Israel, 
thou hast destroyed thyself." Hos. 13: 9. 
At a later day, one of the apostles spoke of 
sinners as those "who oppose themselves." 
The view that we have taken confirms these 
declarations. 

8. The last and most apparent reflection, 
and one on which I have much to say, is 
this, — sin, of necessity, must destroy happi- 
ness. A poet once exclaimed, 

21* 



254 the sinner's friend. 

"Alas, how oft does goodness wound itself, 
And sweet affection prove the spring of wo ! " 

Yes, this is sometimes true. But if goodness 
and affection j in this evil world, can make 
one unhappy, what shall be said of sin and 
hatred? O, the pain, the agony, the despair, 
which these have brought into this world ! 
And yet nothing is plainer than that God 
did not originally make man to be unhappy. 
Had this been his object, as Dr. Paley has 
observed, "he might have made sure of his 
purpose, by forming our senses to be so many 
sores and pains to us, as they are now instru- 
ments of gratification and enjoyment. He 
might have made, for example, every thing 
we tasted, bitter; every thing we saw, loath- 
some ; every thing we touched, a sting ; 
every smell a stench ; and every sound a 
discord." 

No, God never created a being to make 
him unhappy. He so constituted man, that 
all the faculties of the mind, all the attributes 
of the soul, and all the powers of the body, 
unless perverted by sin, might yield him the 
highest happiness. Who is to blame, then, 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 255 

if man is called to experience " the gall of 
bitterness/ 3 and to drink of the cup of sor- 
row ? He surely cannot blame his Creator. 
Sin is the author of this. It has introduced 
discord ? alienation, jealousy and enmity into 
every nation, and community, and family of 
man ; and wherever these feelings are found, 
man must be wretched. In vain we strive 
to be happy without God. We attempt an 
utter impossibility, and are doomed to certain 
disappointment, though hope may flicker 
before us for a while. All God's laws, — the 
moral law and the laws of the mind, — are 
against us. God says, "There is no peace 
to the wicked;" dare you contradict him? 
True, some sins yield a certain degree of 
pleasure, and for a time do not seem to be 
followed by any serious consequences ; but 
their pleasure is a guilty one, and, moreover, 
it is but momentary. "At the last it biteth 
like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." 
Prov. 23 : 32. Poisonous substances, gen- 
erally, are unpleasant to the taste ; but one 
of the most deadly poisons known, prussic 
acid, has both an agreeable odor and taste. 



256 the sinner's friend 



So those kinds of sin which appear sweet 
and pleasant to the depraved soul, are only 
the more dangerous and fatal. 

It has been well said, that " sin stings us 
even in our pleasures ; but religion consoles 
us even in our pains." The first part of this 
maxim has proved true in the case of every 
sinner. He may be mirthful and thoughtless, 
but this will not save him from unhappiness. 
"Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; 
and the end of that mirth is heaviness." 
Prov. 14: 13. He may be wealthy, but, 
like Stephen Girard, and many others, he 
will be at heart a wretched man, for all his 
treasures. He may be endowed with the 
talents and possessed of the careless, mirth- 
loving soul of a Burns ; but, like Burns, there 
will often be moments, if not hours and days, 
when he will sigh, — 

" Oppressed with grief, oppressed with care, 
A burden more than I can bear, 

I sit me down and sigh ; 
O life, thou art a galling load, 
Along a rough, a weary road, 

To wretches such as I." 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 257 

He may, in short, taste of every stream of 
earthly pleasure; but if he does not, like 
Lord Chesterfield, sooner or later wish him- 
self in the place of the dog that crouches at 
his feet, he will at least be compelled to turn 
away in disgust, and confess that the portion 
of this world cannot make a soul happy. " It 
shall even be as when a hungry man dream- 
eth, and, behold, he eateth ; but he awaketh, 
and his soul is empty : or as when a thirsty 
man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh ; but 
he waketh, and, behold, he is faint." Is. 
29: 8. Melancholy, dejection, disgust of 
life, or, as it is termed, ennui, gnaw at the 
root of many a man's happiness, who, did he 
enjoy the favor of God, might be a happy 
Christian. This is true even of those who 
are favored with many earthly blessings. 
After the death of one of the kings of Spain, 
in 961, the following singular memorandum 
was found among his papers, in the hand- 
writing of the deceased. "Fifty years have 
passed since I was caliph. I have enjoyed 
riches, honors and pleasures. Heaven has 
showered upon me all the gifts that man 



258 the sinner's friend. 

could desire. In this long space of apparent 
felicity, I have kept an account of how many- 
happy days I have passed. Their number 
is fourteen. Consider, then, mortals, what 
is grandeur, what is the world, and what is 
life ! " 

It is evident that the sinner can find but 
little real, abiding happiness on earth. But 
we may go farther than this, and affirm that 
he could find still less in heaven. We know 
that no one can enjoy that for which he has 
no relish or taste. An ignorant man would 
not esteem it a pleasure to be introduced into 
the presence of a body of learned philoso- 
phers, nor would he participate in or relish 
their most interesting discussions. Infinitely 
less could the sinner enjoy the society of 
heaven, or the service of God. The lan- 
guage of Milton, as put into the mouth of 
Satan, applies equally well to every sinner. 

" Suppose he should relent, 
And publish grace to all, on promise made 
Of new subjection ; with what eyes could we 
Stand in his presence humble, and receive 
Strict laws imposed, to celebrate his throne 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 259 



With warbled hymns, and to his Godhead sing 
Forced hallelujahs, while he lordly sits 
Our envied Sovereign, and his altar breathes 
Ambrosial odors and ambrosial flowers, 
Our servile offerings 1 This must be our task 
In heaven, this our delight. How wearisome 
Eternity so spent, in worship paid 
To whom we hate ! " 

The poet Cowper expresses the same 
thought, in those lines, — 

" Had I a throne above the rest, 

Where angels and archangels dwell, 
One sin, unslain, within my breast, 

Would make that heaven as dark as hell." 

Perhaps I address a reader, some twelve 
or fifteen years of age, who has not yet 
repented of his sins, and has experienced but 
a few of the miseries to which I have alluded 
in the previous chapters. He may possibly 
regard the picture as overdrawn, and feel no 
uneasiness about the future, even though he 
remains in sin. I have a few words for such 
an one. I admit that you may not at first 
feel the consequences of sin, to any great 
extent. A person bitten by a rabid animal, 



260 the sinner's friend. 

after the momentary pain is allayed, and the 
wound healed, may think himself past dan- 
ger, and engage in the amusements and pur- 
suits of life with all the delight and ardor of 
the most frivolous and gay. But, for all 
this, the fatal poison is in his body, gliding 
through every vein, and infecting every part 
of the system with death. Days, weeks, 
perhaps years, of thoughtlessness pass away, 
and the wound is almost forgotten. But 
suddenly the dreadful venom rises upon him, 
and after a few terrible symptoms, subdues 
and overwhelms him with despair and horror, 
from which no human power can deliver 
him. So the venom of sin often works 
secretly in the mind, and so silently, that the 
sinner anticipates no danger till the dreadful 
disease rises upon him in its strength, and 
hurries him to irretrievable ruin. He carries 
a viper in his bosom, which at any instant 
may pierce him to his soul, and for ever 
destroy his peace. 

Take another illustration. In the time of 
our Saviour, and for many years afterwards, 
Mt. Vesuvius presented a scene of beauty 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 261 

and felicity delightful to behold. It was 
covered with pleasant villas, and enlivened 
by a numerous population. At its foot were 
gay and smiling meadows, verdant valleys, 
fragrant orange groves, and fruitful vineyards. 
It was a delightful spot. True, a careful 
observer might detect a few traces of some 
former volcanic eruption ; but as history had 
recorded no such catastrophe, there appeared 
to be no reason to apprehend danger. But 
what a change took place in a few hours, 
when rivers of burning lava burst forth from 
its crater, and rushed down the sides of the 
mountain, overwhelming in torrents of fire 
every thing that was pleasant and useful, and 
burying large cities in its course ! Was there 
no danger when all was fair and bright? 
And is not danger often concealed in this 
world, till the fatal moment of destruction 
arrives ? Say not, then, that you are in no 
danger, because you are now in the sunshine 
of prosperity. Who knows what a day may 
bring forth ? The interval between the full 
tide of prosperity of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
and their overthrow, was but one night. The 
22 



262 the sinner's friend. 

wickedness of Haman was punished by an 
ignominious death, at a time when he was at 
the zenith of his glory; he went from the 
king's banquet to the gallows. I would 
therefore say to every reader, without hesita- 
tion, "Be sure your sin will find you out." 
Num. 32: 23. 

But perhaps you cannot convince yourself 
that such serious results as I have spoken of 
will flow from so remote and trifling a 
cause as you esteem sin. You think it a 
little thing to transgress God's moral law, 
provided you keep yourself clear from vice 
and crimes. But do you not know that 
what men look upon as a trifling thing, too 
small for their notice, sometimes proves suffi- 
cient to produce a great effect ? How often, 
for instance, does the humble plant coil up in 
its leaves that which can paralyze into idiocy 
the wisest sage, or strike lifeless to the dust 
the strongest frame ! Indeed, we ourselves 
often suffer from causes so latent or trivial, 
that we do not suspect them. A tight shoe, 
in some cases, will produce headache ; and a 
tight cravat about the neck will sometimes 



CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 263 

bring on apoplexy, which may end in death. 
In like manner, sin, — though in your dark- 
ened and perverted eye it loses nearly all its 
deadliness and power, — may be silently work- 
ing upon your soul, changing it into the same 
image, from shame to shame, and preparing 
it to suffer the keenest agony, whenever 
God's Spirit, like a midnight flash of light- 
ning, shall dart a ray of light into your mind. 
"Sin," says Jeremy Taylor, "is first easy, 
then pleasant, then agreeable, then delightful, 
then the man is far from God, then he is 
obstinate, then he resolves never to repent, 
and then he is damned." Reader, in which 
of these stages do you find yourself to-day ? 



III. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



REMARKS. 



It would be of little consequence for us to under- 
stand the nature and effects of a disease of which we 
were dying, if there were no remedy within our 
reach. So all the knowledge we could obtain of 
the ruinous consequences of sin, — that great moral 
disease, — would be useless, and only aggravate our 
suffering, were there no cure for the sorrowing, 
dying soul. But there is a Physician capable of 
healing us, as I shall endeavor to show, after first 
convincing my readers that they can never cure 
themselves. And I may add, that I rejoice in being 
thus permitted to point them to the " Lamb of God, 
that taketh away the sin of the world ; " for I could 
have no heart to paint in such dark colors the 
depravity of man, and the ruin he has brought upon 
himself, were I not able also to direct the guilty to 
"a fountain filled with blood," in which they may 
u lose all their guilty stains." 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE SINNER CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF. 

A sentiment of Juvenal — The downward progress — Sin an 
endless disease — Six reasons for this fact — A frightful 
aspect of sin — Its tendency to destroy all good — Strength 
of sin — An illustration — The fountain of evil inexhaustible 
— The law will not save the sinner — An anecdote — Moral- 
ity will not save him — An illustration — Partial reformation 
useless — Sacrifices and penances in vain — Nothing accept- 
able from sin — The dangers of self-righteousness — Selfish 
motives — The help of man in vain. 

Juvenal, an ancient heathen poet, said, 
in one of his poems, 

" He that once sins, like him that slides on ice, 
Goes swiftly down the slippery ways of vice ; 
Though conscience checks him, yet these rubs 
gone o'er, 

He slides on smoothly, and looks back no more." 



This verse expresses a truth to which I 
would call the reader's attention, viz., — that 



268 the sinner's friend. 



it is the universal tendency of sin, when left 
to itself, to grow worse and worse; and, 
therefore, that sin can never cure itself. Vice 
has never yet manifested any tendency to 
become virtue, nor sin to become holiness. 
They both tend to ruin and death, — not to 
happiness and life. Neither is there any 
such thing as standing still in sin. There 
must always be decided and rapid progress. 
"Evil men and seducers shall wax worse 
and worse, deceiving and being deceived." 
2 Tim. 3 : 13. The little child, who now 
trembles at the commission of a single sin, 
because his conscience tells him it is wrong, 
will soon, if left to his own way, like the 
sinners of old, "do evil with both hands 
earnestly." Micah 7 : 3. 

Sin is very appropriately compared to a 
disease, in the Bible. " The whole head is 
sick, and the whole heart faint." Is. 1: 5. 
But some look upon it as a violent disease, 
which rapidly reaches its crisis, and then still 
more rapidly passes off, leaving no trace 
behind, after death. This is a false and 
unscriptural view. Sin is indeed a violent 



THE SINNER SAVED. 269 

disease ; but so far from its passing quietly 
away, it is continually growing worse, when 
left to itself, never reaching a crisis, but 
destined to rage with increasing violence for 
ever. It is a common thing to speak of the 
end of sin ; and perhaps a wrong impression 
is sometimes conveyed to the minds of others. 
Sin, unrepented of, will never end. The 
Creator, now dishonored and despised, will 
in the future world assume the office of 
Judge, and deal out to his enemies a cup of 
retribution, whose dregs will never be drained, 
whose bottom will never be seen. Sin will 
augment and increase in the world to come, 
but never diminish. It is a viper that breeds 
its own kind in a most prolific manner, and 
thus keeps permanent possession wherever it 
is once admitted, unless cast out by the 
direct power of God. 

There are several reasons for this. 1. It 
is the nature of moral principle to grow by 
exercise. As constant action of your arm 
will strengthen its muscles, so a continued 
exercise of the principle of enmity to God 
will strengthen that principle, and bind you 



270 the sinner's friend. 

more firmly to your evil ways. 2. Conscience 
becomes seared, when it is disregarded, and 
makes less and less resistance, the farther the 
sinner goes. Of course, the difficulties in his 
way, arising within, are rapidly removed. 
" Purity of mind," says Andrew Fuller, "like 
cleanliness of apparel, is accompanied with a 
desire of avoiding every thing that might 
defile ; " but " the child that is accustomed 
to rags and filth, loses all shame, and feels 
no ambition to appear neat or decent." 
3. Under these circumstances, the sinner is 
peculiarly exposed to be overcome by temp- 
tations; for his principal safeguards are 
removed. 4. The power of association now 
lends its aid, to lead him farther from God. 
He has become used to his sinful ways, and 
companions, and would have to sunder many 
ties, to reform. 5. Soon, secret skepticism 
begins to make inroads upon his belief, and 
the longer he trifles with sin, the less he 
believes in its penalty. 6. The power of 
habit at length becomes so irresistible, as to 
bind him for ever in his lost state ; and thus 
he becomes desperate and reckless. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 271 

This is one of the most frightful aspects of 
sin ; but how often do we see it exemplified ! 
These are the steps by which multitudes 
pass down to eternal death. And this dis- 
closes the reason why so few persons who 
have passed the meridian of life are ever 
converted to Christ. As the prophet has 
said, " They are wise to do evil, but to do 
good they have no knowledge." Jer. 4 : 22. 
Reader, if you are still in sin, the gloomiest 
and most melancholy aspect of your case is 
in the future, not in the past. Your past 
guilt is deep and dark enough; but it is 
nothing compared to that which is before 
you, directly in your path. 

Another reason why sin will never cure 
itself, is, that its tendency is to destroy all 
good. Wherever the restraints of a Christian 
land are unknown, it will be found to con- 
sume almost every natural affection, begin- 
ning with the noblest, and descending to the 
lowest. It is like a canker or a rust in the 
soul, ever spreading and increasing. But 
this is not the worst. Were it possible, it 
would destroy all that is good in the universe, 



272 the sinner's friend. 



— yes, even God himself, and raise evil 
spirits to the throne of heaven. We see this 
illustrated in the history of every heathen 
nation. They have, in effect, dethroned the 
one only and true God, and, so far as 
possible, banished virtue and holiness from 
the universe. God did not originally create 
pagans, telling them to increase and multi- 
ply, and yet withholding from them the true 
religion. Every nation that ever has been, 
or is now, the votary of a false religion, 
turned away to darkness, in the first place, 
of its own accord. Such communities are 
striking illustrations of the tendency of sin to 
subvert all good. Sin does nothing by halves. 
It will allow no compromise, no division of 
its claims. It will have the whole, if any. 

The strength of sin is another reason why 
the sinner will not heal himself. A moral 
appetite overpowers and enslaves him. Our 
physical appetites are very strong. Look at 
the man of intemperate habits, or the avari- 
cious man, — you can hardly estimate the 
strength of their appetites. But a moral 
appetite is capable of being far stronger than 



THE SINNER SAVED. 273 

these. Such, indeed, is that desperate appe- 
tite in the heart of the sinner, which is the 
root and trunk of all sin. It is stronger than 
any natural affection. For instance, take 
the following familiar case. A child has a 
parent whom he tenderly loves, and whom 
he tries to make happy. That parent is a 
Christian, and desires, more than any thing 
else, the salvation of that child. The youth 
knows he can do nothing that would rejoice 
his parent more than to give his heart to 
God. But he will not do it. He will do 
any thing for his pious parent but this. Is 
not his aversion to God greater than his filial 
affection ? 

This appetite for sin is so strong that it 
will stoutly resist the weightiest rebukes and 
commands of God, as well as his most tender 
persuasions and solemn admonitions. Yes, 
it will madly withstand the retributions of 
eternity, — not merely when they are seen in 
the dim distance, but even when they are 
just at hand. How often is the sinner, on 
his death-bed, wholly unmoved by the terrors 
of the judgment, and by every consideration 
23 



274 the sinner's friend. 

that can be urged upon the conscience. Sin 
is too strong to be overcome ; and thus is 
verified that text, " His own iniquities shall 
take the wicked himself, and he shall be hold- 
en with the cords of his sins." Prov. 5 : 22. 

We have thus seen, that, for three reasons, 
sin can never cure itself. Its fearful strength, 
and its tendency to destroy all good, and to 
grow continually worse, for ever cut off all 
hope from this quarter. It is, therefore, in 
vain for the sinner to wait for the fountain of 
evil to dry up. This were a more hopeless 
task than even that of the simple rustic, 
alluded to by an ancient poet, who waited 
on the banks of the Tiber for the water to 
pass by, that he might cross to the opposite 
side. Fountains sometimes dry up, and 
time-worn channels forsake their ancient 
courses; but the fountain of sin must for 
ever send forth its poisonous, deadly stream 
of corruption and evil. They who expect a 
kind of " spontaneous evaporation of human 
depravity," either in this world, or that to 
come, are trusting in a most absurd and mis- 
erable delusion. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 275 

But, admitting that sin will never change 
itself to holiness, is there nothing that a sinner 
can do, to purify his heart, and recommend 
himself to the mercy of God ? Can he not 
work out his own salvation, and thus escape 
much of the suffering which sin brings with 
it in this world, as well as the despair await- 
ing him in the world to come ? Some sup- 
pose he may do this ; but I shall endeavor to 
show that every effort of this kind will be a 
positive failure. And I would here remark, 
that all the schemes which I shall notice are 
frequently suggested to the convicted sinner 
by Satan, — that arch empiric and subtle 
impostor, into whose care too many souls are 
committed, to be healed of their sorrows. 

1 . If the sinner directs his eye to the law, 
as a source of hope, he is doomed to utter 
disappointment. He has broken that law 
times without number, and in ways innumer- 
able. Often, when unconscious that he was 
doing wrong, he has transgressed it ; and so 
accustomed has he become to his trespasses, 
that his thoughts, his words or his actions are 
every day in direct rebellion against it. Ad- 



276 the sinner's friend. 



mitting that he could now, of his own accord, 
break off from his evil ways, and henceforth 
keep the law of God perfectly (and we are 
supposing a moral impossibility) I would ask, 
how can he ever make any satisfaction for 
the sins he has already committed ? Will 
his future obedience atone for his past trans- 
gressions ? Certainly not ; and it would be 
perfectly impossible for him to make any 
satisfaction for his sins. And yet not a few 
hope to obtain eternal life by obeying the 
law of God. "I care nothing about your 

theology," said a man to Rev. Dr. C ; 

" my religion is the ten commandments ; that 
is sufficient for me. 55 "A very good religion/' 
said the clergyman. " Indeed," replied the 
other, " I did not suppose you would approve 
of it." "O yes," was the answer, "it is an 
excellent religion ; I know of nothing better. 
But, my good friend, suppose you never kept 
one of those ten commandments, in the spirit 
of it, — suppose your whole life has been 
contrary to them all, — what then?" "O, 
we all have our faults," said the other. 
"Yes," replied the minister, "we do all 



THE SINNER, SAVED. 277 

have our faults, and God has his righteous- 
ness; and let me tell you, sir, that if you 
have no Saviour to honor that law in your 
stead, you must be lost for ever," Think of 
the absurdity of supposing that the law was 
sent into the world to save sinners ! It came 
to condemn, not to save. It brings sin to 
light, and, as every Christian can testify, 
sheds a sunbeam into the unknown depths of 
depravity. How vain, then, for condemned 
sinners to look to the law for hope ! 

" God's holy law transgressed, 
Speaks nothing but despair ; 
Convinced of guilt, with grief oppressed, 
We find no comfort there." 

2. Some try an easier experiment, and, 
leaving the heart pretty much to itself, en- 
deavor to purchase exemption from the pun- 
ishment of sin by outward morality or virtue. 
This, also, is a fruitless labor. External 
morality is a good thing, but it can no more 
save the sinner, than the cold moonbeams of 
a winter's night can warm and vivify the 
freezing traveler. When a father, who has 
23* 



278 the sinner's friend. 



always maintained a spotless character in his 
family and among his relatives, commits a 
crime against the laws of his country, he 
becomes a criminal, and is exposed to the 
punishment, no less than if he had been 
unfaithful and vicious. He cannot plead the 
virtuous deeds done to his friends, as an 
excuse for crimes committed against the pub- 
lic good. He is arrested as a criminal, tried 
as a criminal, and punished as a criminal. 
And believe me, reader, morality and virtue 
alone will not save you. They cannot atone 
for your guilt, but, — mark this truth, — if they 
accompany a heart dead in sin, and full of 
enmity to God, they will only increase that 
guilt, and aggravate your final doom. Their 
presence proves that you treat no being so 
badly as you treat your Creator. 

3. Some think to escape divine justice by 
a partial reformation in their outward con- 
duct. They lop off the limbs and branches, 
leaving the root and trunk of iniquity still 
firmly standing. But all reformations of this 
kind are only an exchange of vices and sins. 
In the sight of God, the heart is as black, 



THE SINNER SAVED. 279 

and rebellious, and desperately depraved, as 
before. They have only garnished the out- 
side, while within, death and corruption revel 
undisturbed. 

4. But the most popular and dangerous 
scheme of all remains to be noticed. Many 
people, being convicted of sin, and feeling 
that they cannot obey the law perfectly, and 
that outward virtue and reformation cannot 
satisfy the claims of God, think that they can 
secure the forgiveness of sin by penances and 
sacrifices of their own. This is a favorite 
doctrine with Pagans, Mohammedans and 
Romanists, though it is not confined to them. 
Many in our midst, who do not openly pro- 
fess it, secretly live according to it, and build 
their hopes upon it. But it is a foundation of 
sand. It overlooks the fact, that the offering 
of no sinner can be acceptable to God, so 
long as the heart is withheld. "Will the 
Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or 
with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I 
give my first-born for my transgression, the 
fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? He 
hath showed thee, O man, what is good; 



280 the sinner's friend. 



and what doth the Lord require of thee, but 
to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk 
humbly with thy God ? " Micah 6 : 7, 8. All 
the fasts, humiliations, self-inflictions, sacrifi- 
ces and offerings in the world will not cleanse 
the guilty soul. As well may the leper seek 
to wash away his defiling spots with water, 
as the sinner endeavor to cleanse himself 
from guilt by works of penance or tears of 
contrition. He may even suffer himself to 
be imprisoned for life within the gloomy walls 
of a convent, and, secured from all contami- 
nation from without, he may make it the 
great business of his life to mortify his flesh 
and afHict his soul ; but all his efforts will be 
in vain, and on his death-bed he will be the 
same miserable, lost, unpardoned sinner, that 
he was when he forsook the world for the 
cloister, with the exception that he is far 
more self-righteous. To say a man is saved 
by his good works, is to say he is saved by 
his sins. But we know sin cannot bring a 
worthy offering to God. Even tears of pen- 
itence and a broken heart are not accepted 
on account of their worth, but only for the 



THE SINNER SAVED. 281 

sake of Christ. The tears of a criminal can- 
not atone for his guilt, in the eye of the law. 
So, likewise, 

" Not all our groans and tears, 

Nor works which we have done, 
Nor vows, nor promises, nor prayers, 
Can e'er for sin atone." 

Most wisely has it been said, that "many 
have passed the rocks of gross sin, that have 
been cast away upon the quicksands of self- 
righteousness." Such is the fate of those 
who depend on their own efforts for salvation, 
by adopting either of the four schemes to 
which I have alluded. They trust to a bro- 
ken staff, "whereon if a man lean, it will go 
into his hand, and pierce it." Is. 36 : 6. 
No man ever trusted in his own heart but he 
found it false. Moreover, they attempt an 
impossible work. Human skill and applica- 
tion may restore reason to the maniac, or 
health to the dying man ; but never holy 
affections to a heart alienated from God. 
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an 
unclean? not one." Job 14: 4. 



282 the sinner's friend. 

Reader, did it ever occur to you to ask 
what are the motives of those who seek to 
save themselves, in any of the ways I have 
mentioned ? Here you will find another very 
good reason why all their efforts are worse 
than useless. Selfishness is at the bottom of 
all. They fear the penalty of sin, not the 
sin itself. They tremble at the wrath of 
God, but care not for the dishonor they bring 
upon his law. They dread punishment, but 
love evil. They wish to escape hell, but do 
not and cannot love heaven. A little boy, 
who had been taught to pray to God morning 
and evening, was overheard one day, after 
he had been punished at school for some 
offence, praying to God that he might never 
again be whipped. This is a perfect illustra- 
tion of the natural heart. It does not ask to 
be delivered from sin, but only from its pun- 
ishment. And can it be expected that God 
will crown with success efforts made in such 
a spirit as this? No, every sinner who is 
truly converted is influenced by nobler and 
higher motives, as well as by those that 
appeal to his hopes and fears. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 283 

It is in vain, therefore, that we look to 
man for help, or trust in any earth-born 
scheme. Human wisdom never yet discov- 
ered a remedy for sin, or a sure balm for the 
wounded spirit. The sects of ancient phi- 
losophers who flourished for four or five 
hundred years, and spent their lives in exam- 
ining, inquiring, disputing and teaching, — 
what did they all accomplish ? Though em- 
inently endowed with eloquence, and gifted 
with genius, did they not leave mankind 
where they found them, — in the same per- 
plexities, prejudices, and blindness of heart, 
and exposed to the same wrath of the Al- 
mighty on account of sin ? "And, indeed," 
to use the words of another, "how could 
they labor for the reformation of the human 
heart, as they neither knew wherein it was 
irregular, nor the source of its irregularity ? " 
So at the present day, however important 
human exertions may be, they can accom-? 
plish but little in this work, alone. We are 
thus shut up to this one conclusion, " Earth 
has no Saviour, if its Saviour be not God," 



284 the sinner's friend. 



CHAPTER II. 

CHRIST THE SINNER'S SAVIOUR. 

A heathen's opinion of Christianity — The sinner's religion — 
The truth revealed, that sin may be pardoned — A brief 
history of man's redemption — Forgiveness offered to all — 
The rich blessing of salvation — Kindness of God in plan- 
ning a system of grace — A common illustration of his 
mercy compared with this — An exhibition of the love of 
Christ — His benevolence compared with that of two re- 
markable philanthropists — Gospel, or " glad tidings " — 
Story of a heathen devotee — The reader reminded of the 
infinite evil of sin — Counsels and 7 warnings. 

In the early ages, Christianity was called 
" the vile sinner's religion/ 5 by some of its 
bitter opponents. They chose to call it thus, 
because it was founded on the doctrine that 
man is a lost sinner, and could be delivered 
from death only by the sacrifice of Christ. 
The Christian's Bible, too, had much to say 
of sin and its consequences, — subjects con- 
cerning which heathen authors were almost 
silent. These proud philosophers, therefore, 



THE SINNER SAVED. 285 

thought they were applying to it a title of 
severe reproach, when they stigmatized it as 
the sinner's religion. But never were men 
more mistaken. This very name is its glory 
and excellence. The religion of Christ is 
" the vile sinner's religion," — -the only hope 
of the dying soul ; and blessed be God that 
he has made it known unto us. Burdened, 
fainting, dying beneath the weight of earthly 
sorrow, here we find relief and consolation. 
Here the thirsty soul drinks of the water of life. 
Here the consciencerstricken sinner beholds 
the arrpw plucked from his breast, and a 
healing balm applied to the wound. Here 
the poor, the miserable, the lost, the outcast, 
find "a Friend that sticketh closer than a 
brother. 52 

But how is all this good accomplished ? — 
how are these blessings secured? That 
simple text answers the question, — " There 
is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest 
be feared." Ps. 130: 4. Blessed sentence ! 
worthy to be written in letters of gold, and 
inscribed in deep lines on every heart. No 
wonder that it gave peace and joy to the 
24 



286 the sinner's friend. 

sorrowing heart of the sainted Owen, when 
nothing else could comfort him. Said an 
ancient Greek poet, " Forgiveness is the only 
cure of sin." This is a truth to which not 
every pagan has attained ; but it is one which 
the Christian understands and most deeply 
feels. It is a Bible truth, and the basis of 
the plan of salvation, which it is the design of 
the present chapter to unfold. 

When our first parents sinned, God foresaw 
the dreadful consequences of their fall. He 
knew the wretchedness, the degradation and 
the wo which it must inevitably bring down 
upon their posterity. And when he visited 
paradise, to pronounce sentence upon its guilty 
inhabitants, he pitied their misery, and prom- 
ised them a Saviour. This promise was 
afterwards renewed, from time to time, and 
psalmists and prophets caught now and then 
a glimpse of the glorious work of redeeming 
love. Sacrifices and ceremonies were institu- 
ted among God's chosen people, to remind 
them of him who was to come. Types and 
shadows were employed, to teach them the 
object and nature of the work to be accom- 



THE SINNER SAVED. 287 

plished. To this great event, every thing 
else seemed to point ; around it clustered all 
the hopes and promises which God made to 
man ; and for its fulfilment the powers of 
heaven and earth seemed to be enlisted. 

In the fullness of time, the Son of God 
appeared among men. He became a man of 
sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He was 
despised and rejected of his brethren and 
nation. He was persecuted and reviled, 
oppressed and afflicted ; yet he murmured 
not. He suffered not for himself, but for us ; 
and on him was laid the iniquity of us all. 
He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. 
He was wounded for our transgressions, and 
bruised for our iniquities ; that by his stripes 
we might be healed. And at length, after 
years of toil and suffering, spent in ministering 
to the wants of the needy, and reclaiming the 
lost, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, 
and humbling himself, became obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross. He thus 
suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, 
that he might bring us to God, and by his 
own blood obtain eternal redemption for us. 



288 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



" He took the dying traitor's place, 
And suffered in his stead ; 
For sinful man, — O, wondrous grace !— 
For sinful man he bled !" 



This is a simple sketch, but it tells the 
history of man's redemption. " God so loved 
the world, that he gave his only beloved Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life." John 1 : 
16. There is, therefore, no reason why any 
should now groan under the condemnation of 
sin in this life, or lie for ever under the weight 
of divine justice in the world to come. A 
voice reaches the ear of every guilty soul, 
crying, " I, even I, am he that blotteth out 
thy transgressions, for mine own sake, and 
will not remember thy sins." Is. 43 : 25. 
To all, the promise is addressed, u Though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white 
as snow ; though they be red like crimson, 
they shall be as wool." Is. 1 : 18. God 
has proclaimed himself to man, " The Lord, 
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniqui- 



THE SINNER SAVED. 289 

ty, and transgression, and sin." Ex. 34 : 6, 7. 
The way of reconciliation is opened, and all 
things are ready. There is hope for the sinner. 
He can return to his Father's house, with the 
certainty of meeting a kind and cordial wel- 
come. He can escape many of the present 
evils of sin, and look forward a few years to 
the day when he shall be set free from all 
earthly corruption and sorrow. A highway 
is laid out from earth to heaven. Guides and 
accommodations are freely provided for his 
benefit. He need but knock, and the gate 
will be opened. He is required to bring no 
offering but a contrite heart. His past debt 
is forgiven, and his future wants are all pro- 
vided for. The thick cloud of sin, which 
once intercepted the beams of divine favor, 
is dispelled by the sun of righteousness. 
He hears a voice, whispering to his soul, " I 
have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy trans- 
gressions." Is. 44: 22. He has become 
the fortunate possessor of the " pearl of great 
price ; " and he knows, from his own experi- 
ence, that the riches of the Christian are 
"so many that they cannot be numbered, so 
24* 



290 the sinner's friend. 



precious that they cannot be valued, and so 
great that they cannot be measured." Christ 
is now the theme of his daily contemplations, 
and his song in the house of his pilgrimage ; 
and he feels that, even were he called to the 
stake, he could join with the martyr of old, 
who lifted his burning hands from the midst 
of the flames, and exclaimed, "None but 
Christ ! none but Christ ! " 

Such, youthful reader, are the fruits of 
Christ's redemption. The skill and learning 
of no human being could ever satisfactorily 
answer that momentous question, a How 
should man be just with God ? " Job 9 : 2. 
Indeed, the question itself might never have 
occurred to man, had he been left to himself. 
When our first parents realized their fall, they 
did not fly to the presence of God, and throw 
themselves at his feet, and mingle their tears 
with the dust, and refuse to be comforted till 
some kind, forgiving word had fallen upon 
their ear. No, they did not so much as think 
of seeking forgiveness, or of preparing a way 
of reconciliation to their Creator. They went 
and hid themselves, thinking to avoid his 



THE SINNER SAVED. 291 



piercing eye, and escape the frown of divine 
justice. And our own hearts naturally prompt 
us to act in the same manner. But God 
himself has worked out the problem above 
stated, and demonstrated the way in which 
sinners may be forgiven, and reconciled unto 
himself. The result is fully recorded in the 
word of God ; and thus, instead of being left 
in our natural darkness and blindness, with 
but a feeble light to shine on our path, — 

" Enough to glimmer o'er the yawning wave, 
But not to point the harbor which might save," — 

we are permitted to live in the full light of 
the gospel, by which our whole danger and 
our whole duty are made clear. While we 
are grateful for these blessed privileges, we 
surely ought to profit greatly by them. 

There are several thoughts suggested by 
our Saviour's atonement for sin, and intimately 
connected with the subject of this book, which 
are too important to be passed over. 

1. How great is the mercy of God ! It is 
indeed wonderful what provision he has made 
for the happiness of man, — the rebellious 



292 the sinner's friend. 

inhabitant of this little and distant world. 
This thought is often suggested by his kind- 
ness in providing for our temporal wants and 
sorrows. We know that bodily suffering is 
one of the consequences of our sinfulness ; 
yet what a multitude of soothing medicines 
has he provided, to allay pain and restore 
health. Look at a single illustration. In 
many parts of the world, he has caused plen- 
tiful springs to issue from the earth, whose 
waters possess the property of restoring " sav- 
ing health " to those who suffer from disease. 
The simple element, in its subterranean 
courses, is made to pass over beds of lime, 
and magnesia, and sulphur, and iron, and 
traverse fields of mineral deposit, or purifying 
salt, till, impregnated with stimulating gases, 
it at length rises to the surface, and gushes 
forth in sparkling rills. This simple spring, 
containing, as it does, healing virtues which 
no human skill can imitate, is a delightful 
exhibition of the goodness and mercy of God. 
But what is this, in comparison with the pro- 
vision he has made for the diseases of the 
soul ! 



THE SINNER SAVED. 293 

2. What an exhibition have we here of the 
love of Christ ! Think what he has endured 
for our sins. Estimate, if you can, the sacri- 
fice he made, when he voluntarily forsook his 
throne, and became a servant, despised and 
rejected of those for whom he suffered. But 
your thoughts stagger beneath the burden, 
though they bear no adequate proportion to 
the reality. It is a theme beyond your grasp, 
and you can only exclaim, with the devout 
Pollok, 

" 0 love, all height above, all depth below, 
Surpassing far all knowledge, all desire, 
All thought, — the Holy One for sinners dies ! 
The Lord of life for guilty rebels bleeds, — 
Quenches eternal fire with blood divine ! 
Abundant mercy ! overflowing grace !" 

An old man once lived in Marseilles, who 
had, by the most laborious industry, and the 
severest abstinence, amassed a large fortune. 
He was regarded by those who knew him as 
a desperate miser, and was greeted, wherever 
he appeared, with insults and execrations. 
But at length he died, and the following 
sentence was found in his will : — " Having 



294 the sinner's friend. 

observed from infancy that the poor of Mar- 
seilles are ill supplied with water, which can 
only be procured at a great price, I have 
cheerfully labored the whole of my life to 
procure them this great blessing ; and I direct 
that the whole of my property shall be laid 
out in building an aqueduct for their use." 
This was indeed an extraordinary example of 
benevolence and love, — of self-denying sacri- 
fice for the good of others. But after all, it 
is a slight thing, compared with the exhibition 
of love witnessed in the life and death of our 
Saviour. Contrast the two, and nothing more 
need be said to establish the point. 

Take another case of still greater benevo- 
lence, and one, I believe, which is well 
authenticated. The celebrated Vincent de 
Paule was one day passing through a town in 
France, if I remember aright, when his atten- 
tion was attracted by a sight which at once 
deeply affected his benevolent heart. A man, 
convicted of some offence, was about to 
endure the horrors of the life of a galley slave, 
for three years, and was just taking leave of 
his family. The intense agony of the father, 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



295 



and the bitter sorrow of the family, so moved 
the philanthropist's heart, that he immediately 
consented to take the place of the poor cul- 
prit ; and he actually did wear the chains and 
endure the sufferings which were about to be 
inflicted upon the prisoner, so that to the day 
of his death he bore scars of the physical 
suffering he had so generously endured. Here 
we have another extraordinary instance of 
disinterested benevolence, resembling, in many 
points, that which fills the heart of our Saviour. 
But at best it is a feeble parallel to his, who 
came down from heaven to save his enemies, 
and who patiently suffered death that they 
might live. It is but a finite illustration of 
the infinite. 

3. We see why the history of Christ is 
called the gospel, or " glad tidings." It is 
truly "glad tidings of great joy " to the con- 
verted sinner. Not long since, a certain man 
on the Malabar coast, who had inquired of 
various devotees and priests how he might 
make atonement for his sins, was directed to 
drive iron spikes through his sandals, and 
placing his naked feet on them, thus to walk 



296 the sinner's friend. 



about 480 miles. He undertook the journey ; 
but while resting one day under a large, shady 
tree, where the gospel was sometimes pro- 
claimed, one of the missionaries came and 
preached in his hearing from the words, 
" The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from 
all sin." This was strange news to the poor 
pagan, and ere the sermon was finished, he 
rose up, threw off his torturing sandals, and 
cried out aloud, " This is what I want ! " and 
from that time he became a living witness 
that the blood of Jesus does indeed cleanse 
from all sin. Now, was not the gospel glad 
tidings to him ? We, who have been familiar 
with its hopes and promises from our earliest 
years, can hardly appreciate this thought. 
But the thousands of Christian converts in 
heathen lands can tell us what it means. 

4. In the death of Christ, we are most 
affectingly reminded of the dreadful evil of 
sin. He could cure the diseases of the body 
by a word ; but to heal the soul it cost his 
own blood. After looking to the cross, it 
would seem that we never could again forget 
that we are in a revolted world. While we 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



297 



tread the earth that drank the blood of the . 
Son of God,- — while we breathe the atmos- 
phere that wafted his groans to heaven, — 
while we walk under the sky that was once 
hung in darkness over the solemn scene of 
Calvary, surely we can never deny the dread- 
ful reality of sin, or esteem it a trifling evil. 

In closing, I have one or two friendly coun- 
sels for the reader. Remember that text, 
" Not by works of righteousness which we 
have done, but according to his mercy he 
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Titus 3 : 
5. In other words, remember " a man may 
go to heaven without health, without wealth, 
without learning, without friends, — but he 
never can go to heaven without Christ." 
Never forget that Jesus is the only sure foun- 
dation ; and that all others, though they be 
as venerable as the pyramids of Egypt, whose 
history is lost in antiquity, are yet but as sand ; 

" And he who builds his towering schemes 
On surge-like bases, such as these, 
Rears but a pyramid of dreams 
Upon the ever-shifting seas. ,, 
25 



298 the sinner's friend. 

Finally, imitate the example of the excel- 
lent John Newton, who used to say, when his 
memory was nearly gone, " that forget what 
he might, he could never forget two things : 
1 . That he was a great sinner ; and 2. That 
Christ was a great Saviour." Reader, re- 
member these two facts, whatever else you 
forget. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



299 



CHAPTER III. 

THE METHOD OE SALVATION. 

To the inquirer — The Siberian exiles, illustrating the posi- 
tion of impenitent sinners — Something more necessary — 
Testimony of the Bible — Conversion not a mere reforma- 
tion — Story of an Athenian youth — A mere change of 
emotions not conversion- — JNor a change of opinions — Nor 
an observance of forms — Bible definition of conversion — 
A symbol of the new birth — Work of the Holy Spirit — No 
one would have been saved but for the Spirit — This truth 
applied to the reader — The several stages in conversion — 
The enthusiastic painter, and the portrait of the Saviour — 
Emotions of the penitent soul in view of Christ — Previous 
views contrasted — Anecdote of Cecil — Feelings of a par- 
doned soul. 

If any reader has become interested in the 
views I have presented of the evils of sin, and 
has heard a whisper within his own heart, 
confirming what has been said, and urging 
him to fly to the relief pointed out in our last 
chapter, — if I have such a reader, what I am 
now about to write is affectionately addressed 
to him. He needs some farther instruction, 



300 the sinner's friend. 



that he may repair to the fountain opened for 
sin, and become clean. 

Suppose a band of exiles in Siberia, who 
had been banished from their country for for- 
gery and theft, should receive a message from 
their emperor, informing them that a benevo- 
lent individual had determined to release 
them, and had paid the amount of their debt, 
though it made him poor. These exiles, we 
will suppose, had been sent to that cold and 
desolate region, to labor in the mines so long 
as their health and strength permitted, and 
were then to be put to death. The messenger 
finds them toiling, and suffering every hard- 
ship, and hastens to deliver his errand. But, 
strange to relate, no one regards it. Another 
is soon sent, to expostulate with them ; and 
he informs them that their benefactor has not 
only purchased their pardon at an immense 
sacrifice, but has also procured a comfortable 
estate for each of them, which they shall be 
welcome to, if they will return and become 
virtuous citizens. He, too, urges every argu- 
ment, but in vain. At length their benevolent 
friend himself goes to them, and, after encoun- 



THE SINNER SAVED. 301 

tering much suffering and toil, finds them 
bowed down in bondage. He speaks, but 
they refuse to hear. He invites, and pleads, 
but in vain. They take no notice of his 
message, except to make objections and 
excuses. One does not wish to undertake 
such an unpleasant journey. Another is so 
busily employed in gathering silver and gold 
(though for the benefit of others), that he 
cannot leave the mines. Another has married 
a wife, or formed acquaintances, and he cannot 
go. Another (strange infatuation !) believes 
the whole story a fable, and regards the kind 
philanthropist as a base impostor. And, in 
short, all of them are wedded to their vicious 
ways, and do not wish to be under the re- 
straints of good society. 

This, young friends, is the strange position 
in which men place themselves, till the Spirit 
of God comes into their hearts. Christ has 
died for them ; but they will neither repent 
nor believe. There is, therefore, something 
yet to be done, to make his death of any avail 
to a single transgressor. In the expressive 
language of the Bible, man must be " born 
25* 



302 the sinner's friend. 

again/' become a " new creature," be " re- 
newed in the spirit of his mind/' " put on the 
new man," "pass from death unto life," and 
become possessor of a " new heart." Our 
Saviour himself declared, in the most solemn 
manner, " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 
Except a man be born again, he cannot see 
the kingdom of God." John 3: 3,7. There 
must, therefore, be a great change in the sin- 
ner, before he can become a partaker of the 
righteousness which is by faith. What is this 
change ? At this point a great many fatal 
mistakes are made ; and that my readers may 
avoid them, it may be well to show, first, 
what this change is not, and then what it is. 

1. Conversion is not an outward reforma- 
tion of conduct. Great changes of this kind 
have sometimes been produced by pagan 
teachers of morality. A young Athenian, 
named Polemon, who was much given to vice, 
and was infamous for his irregularities, in 
which he gloried, in returning from a debauch 
one day, passed by the school of Xenocrates, 
a celebrated philosopher of Athens. Observ- 
ing the door open, he went in, full of wine, 



THE SINNER SAVED. 303 

sweet with essence, and with a wreath on his 
head ; and, less to hear than out of insolence, 
he seated himself among the auditors. The 
whole assembly were surprised and offended ; 
but the philosopher, without betraying the 
least emotion, varied the discourse, and intro- 
duced the subjects of temperance and sobriety, 
and the opposite vices. The young libertine, 
who listened with attention, opened his eyes 
to the deformity of his character, and was soon 
heartily ashamed of himself. The wreath fell 
from his head. With downcast eyes he hid 
himself in his cloak ; and instead of the gay 
insolence with which he entered the school, 
he became serious and thoughtful. From that 
hour an entire change of conduct ensued. 
He became a philosopher himself, and never 
departed from the wisdom and sobriety which 
his master set before him. 

Here was a great change, every one will 
admit. But this is not conversion. This is 
not what the Scriptures mean by the terms I 
have quoted. The heart, beyond doubt, was 
not affected, at least in its emotions toward 
God ; and in this light, the reckless libertine 



304 the sinner's friend. 

and the grave philosopher were equally odious 
in the eye of Heaven. 

2. Conversion does not consist in a succes- 
sion of terrors and consolations. This is an 
error to which many are exposed, in seasons 
of general religious interest. A youth, little 
acquainted with the Bible, becomes deeply 
anxious, and manifests much feeling on the 
subject of religion. For weeks, perhaps, he 
feels himself a lost sinner, and mourns- over 
his dreadful state. But suddenly he thinks 
(he knows not why) that he has experienced 
a change of heart. Full of joy, he hastens to 
tell his friends the glad tidings ; and soon he 
presents himself for admission to the church. 
Question him now, and perhaps you will find 
him ignorant of the first principles of religion, 
and unable to give any intelligent account of 
his conversion ; but it would be a hopeless 
task to convince him that he is not a Chris- 
tian. The sudden change in his feelings is 
enough for him, and he is offended that any 
thing more should be required. I have known 
such cases, and seen the mistaken individuals, 
after a few years, pursuing the way of death 



THE SINNER SAVED. 305 

with the giddy throng, their last state being 
worse than their first. Is this conversion ? 
Most assuredly it is not. 

3. Conversion does not consist in altering 
one's religious opinions. The pagan may see 
the folly of idolatry, and renounce it for 
Christianity ; the infidel may be argued into 
a belief in the Bible; the Papist, or Univer- 
salist, or Unitarian, may be convinced that he 
is in error, and trusts in " another gospel/' 
instead of the gospel of Christ ; all this may 
take place, without the heart of either being 
in the least affected. The head may be right ; 
but if the heart is wrong, the sinner is still 
under condemnation. 

4. Conversion does not consist in baptism, 
or the observance of any forms. Says a Ro- 
man Catholic catechism, published in this 
city, " Baptism is a sacrament by which we 
are made Christians, children of God, and 
heirs of heaven ; and are cleansed from origi- 
nal sin, and also from actual sins, if we be 
guilty of any." This is the doctrine of the 
Papal church, but not of the Bible. It is, to 
speak plainly, a palpable falsehood. 



306 the sinner's friend. 



Such are some of the most common errors 
on this subject. Let us now endeavor to 
ascertain the true meaning of the second 
birth. With the Bible before us, we can 
easily avoid all mistake. " If any man be in 
Christ, he is a new creature ; old things are 
passed away, behold all things are become 
new." 2 Cor. 5: 17. " That ye put off, 
concerning the former conversation, the old 
man which is corrupt, according to the deceit- 
ful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your 
mind; and that ye put on the new man, 
which after God is created in righteousness 
and true holiness." Eph. 4 : 22—24. This 
language implies that the new birth is an 
entire change in the affections of the heart ; 
it is the beginning of the spiritual life ; the 
commencement of holiness in the soul. 

Let us illustrate this by a reference to the 
birth of our first parent. However curiously 
God wrought upon the body of Adam, one 
great thing was wanting, till he breathed his 
own breath into his nostrils. There was an 
eye, most wonderfully contrived, but it saw 
not. There was a carefully adjusted ear, but 



THE SINNER SAVED. 307 

it heard not. There was a hand, but it 
moved not. There was a beautiful form, 
perfect in symmetry, and its thousand parts 
all wonderfully adapted to each other, but it 
was still lifeless and motionless. Then God 
breathed upon it, and in an instant the whole 
was transformed. That eye opened, and 
sparkled with joy, as it gazed upon the beau- 
ties of creation. Rich notes of music struck 
upon the ear, and pleasantly vibrated through 
the soul. Odors laden with perfume, and 
spicy gales, were wafted to his sense of smell. 
Delicious fruit melted within his mouth, both 
gratifying and exciting his taste, and crystal 
waters delighted his thirsty soul. His body 
moved with ease and agility, each motion 
giving pleasure, each step discovering new 
objects of delight. 

Here we have an emblem of that second 
birth, that new creation, spoken of in the 
Bible. The sinner is dead in trespasses and 
sin ; and though many lovely and beautiful 
things may appear in his character, he has no 
spiritual life. But when the Spirit breathes 
upon his lifeless soul, then does he experience 



308 the sinner's friend. 

a change beautifully analogous to that just 
described. The glory of God, the excellency 
of Christ, the hallowed influences of the 
Spirit, and the preciousness of the word of 
life, — these, and many other things, now 
appear to him in a new light. His soul is 
now endowed with life, his mental eye is 
opened, and he beholds new and wondrous 
things. 

This great change, as already implied, is 
produced by the Holy Spirit. No sinner was 
ever converted without his influence. When 
God planned the work of redemption, he 
foresaw that no one, of his own accord, would 
voluntarily give up sin, and seek holiness. 
Men would not repent, though they saw Jesus 
on the cross a thousand times. The Father 
might have pitied and entreated, but in vain ; 
the Son might have hung on the cross for ages, 
and not one sinner have been saved. God 
anticipated this ; and to meet the difficulty, 
he made it a part of his plan to send the Holy 
Spirit to soften and move the hearts of the 
impenitent. But for this, the mission of Christ 
would have been a prodigious and costly 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



309 



journey, to no purpose. In addition to 
breaking the law, the whole race would have 
become guilty of the still more awful crime of 
rejecting and murdering the Son of God. 
They would thus have rapidly attained the 
climax of guilt, defeating all God's purposes 
of mercy to the race, and finally would have 
been all consigned to endless wo. 

I have said that the Father foresaw all 
this. He therefore sent the Holy Ghost into 
the world, to finish the work began by the 
Son. His peculiar mission is to convince of 
sin, to convert, and to sanctify. The apostle 
says, " According to his mercy he saved us, 
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing 
of the Holy Ghost." Titus 3 : 5. The 
Bible teaches this doctrine most distinctly in 
other places ; and our own experience con- 
firms the truth. Where is the man, truly 
converted, who does not confess that he would 
never have come to the Saviour of his own 
accord? Inquire of every Christian you 
know concerning this, and they will all say, 

" 'Twas the same love that spread the feast 
That sweetly forced us in." 
26 



310 the sinner's friend. 



This same truth has been experienced by the 
unconverted, who have put off religion to old 
age, or the death-bed, and then found them- 
selves unable to receive Christ. Their day 
of grace was over, and the Spirit had taken 
its final flight from their cold and stubborn 
hearts. 

But let me press this subject directly to my 
impenitent reader. How many appeals have 
fallen upon your ear, and yet moved you not ! 
The solemn admonitions of God's providence, 
the earnest and pleading eloquence of the 
Bible, the urgent invitations of your pastor 
and pious friends, have all been lost. So far 
as you are concerned, the minister of Christ 
might as well have gone to the grave-yard, 
and sounded the resurrection cry, summoning 
the sleepers from the tombs ; he could not 
have been less successful. And why is this ? 
It is because you are dead, and the Spirit of 
God alone can reach you. That Spirit, it 
may be, has more than once been granted to 
you, but you have resisted and grieved it, and 
therefore still remain in your sins,, dead to all 
holiness. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 311 

The first thing the Spirit does, in convert- 
ing a sinner, is to show him his own heart. 
The long catalogue of his sins is unrolled, and 
spread out before him. He sees them as he 
never saw them before. The blackness of 
his guilt, the enormity of his crimes, stand out 
in vivid colors, and appal him. Perhaps sins 
long forgotten rise from their graves, and 
appear before him as if committed yesterday. 
He before knew that he was a sinner, but 
now he feels it, most deeply. It is not strange, 
therefore, that fear and trembling take posses- 
sion of his soul. He sees the sword of justice 
glistening over his head ; he hears the mut- 
tering of the thunder of God's wrath ; he feels 
that he is lost for ever, unless divine mercy 
interpose. Despairing of every other hope, he 
is led to repent of his sins, and mourn in secret 
over his guilt. Perhaps, as he throws himself 
upon his knees, his eyes are flowing with 
tears, — 

" Blest tears of soul-felt penitence, 
In whose benign, redeeming flow, 
Is felt the first, the only sense 

Of guiltless joy that guilt can know." 



312 the sinner's friend. 



While in this state Christ is presented to him 
as the Saviour of the lost. And what a 
moment is that, when, for the first time, he 
beholds him with an eye of faith, and can 
exclaim, with Thomas, " My Lord and my 
God!" John 20: 28. 

A gentleman in this city, not long since, 
invited to his house a young man, about 
eighteen years of age, who had displayed a 
great native talent for painting, and who 
came here with the advice of the Governor of 
his native State, who furnished him with 
introductions to several artists. In examining 
the objects of curiosity and beauty with which 
the gentleman's house is well supplied, his 
attention was soon drawn to a beautiful paint- 
ing which the owner had brought from Italy, 
representing the head of our Saviour. The 
young artist no sooner beheld it than he was 
overpowered with the sublimity of the picture, 
and burst into tears. It far surpassed every 
thing he had ever conceived of. He gazed 
upon it with intense delight for some time, 
and finally left it with great reluctance ; for, 
as he afterwards said, he could have examined 



THE SINNER SAVED. 313 

it for a day, without becoming weary. From 
that moment he desired above every thing 
else to go to Italy. He was willing to live 
on bread and water, or take the hard berth of 
a sailor " before the mast/ 5 and sacrifice every 
comfort, if he could but behold the land 
which has produced such inimitable works of 
art. And I presume that ere this he has 
accomplished his end. 

This incident illustrates the feelings of the 
penitent sinner, when he beholds the portrait 
of Christ, as exhibited in the Bible, and its 
glory strikes the eye for the first time. As 
he gazes upon it hour after hour, he, too, is 
perhaps constrained to weep. But it is not 
simply the beauty of the painting which 
affects him, though this is a noble work. It 
is the character he beholds which moves him 
to tears. He weeps that there is one willing 
to bear the penalty of his sins, and save him 
from deserved death. He weeps for joy, that 
he has found one so perfectly holy, who is 
not ashamed to be called his friend and broth- 
er. And from that moment he resolves that 
he will see that glorious Saviour, and go to 
26* 



314 the sinner's friend. 



the world where he dwells, cost what it may. 
He thinks of nothing else. He will bear any 
sacrifice; endure any hardship, to go there. 
And he has this precious promise, that he shall 
one day see him as he is, and be changed into 
the same image, from glory to glory. He can 
then say, in triumph, 

" Go, worldlings, boast of all your stores, 
And tell how bright they shine ; 
Your heaps of glittering dust are yours, 
Rut my Redeemer's mine ! " 

Thus the Holy Ghost enables the penitent 
sinner to behold in Christ all that is excellent 
and glorious. Before he saw him by faith, it 
may be that he appeared like " a root out of 
the dry ground,' ' and in the way of eternal 
life. Thus, strange as it may seem, many 
stumble upon that stone which was laid, not 
for a stumbling-block, but for " a foundation 
stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone.'' 
Thus was it with Richard Cecil, who had 
been an infidel, but was converted through the 
prayers and example of his pious mother. 
When he began to feel a seriousness about his 



THE SINNER SAVED. 315 



salvation, he rose from his bed one night, to 
pray. But he was instantly damped, by 
recollecting that much of his mother's comfort 
seemed to arise from her faith in Christ. 
" Now," thought he, " this Christ I have ridi- 
culed ; he stands much in my way, and can 
form no part of my prayers." In utter con- 
fusion, he again retired to his bed. But at 
length light broke into his mind ; and he then 
discovered that Jesus Christ, so far from stand- 
ing in the way, was himself " the way, the 
truth, and the life. 5 ' 

When the returning sinner obtains such a 
view of Christ as this, he quickly loses his 
anxiety and fear, and finds joy and consolation 
in their place ; — as Bunyan's pilgrim, after toil- 
ing up the highway of Salvation, suddenly felt 
the irksome burden fall from his shoulders, as 
he approached the cross, and was constrained 
to leap for joy. He is overwhelmed with the 
goodness of God, in forgiving him so freely. 
When he sought pardon, he did not hear a 
voice, saying, " How can I forgive thee, thou 
vile sinner ! " His injured Father did not 
recount the number and magnitude of his 



316 the sinner's friend. 

transgressions, and urge this as a reason why 
he should not forgive him ; — no, though he 
might justly have repelled him in this way, 
yet he spread out his paternal arms, and said, 
" This my son was dead, and is alive again ; 
he was lost, and is found ; " and there is joy 
in heaven at the sight. No wonder that he 
cannot refrain from praising the Lord for all 
his goodness. " I know not," recently said a 
minister, in his last moments, " I know not 
how I could employ myself among fallen 
spirits ; for I could not help singing, ' Glory 
to God ! ' " This is the blessed experience 
of the true Christian. God grant that we 
all know what it is. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



317 



CHAPTER IV. 

DIRECTIONS FOR THE SINNER 

Two classes of reasonable persons— Things to be done — We 
should seek good influences — Use means — Think — The 
sinner must feel that he is lost — Anecdote of Whitefield — 
The lost child saved — Secret prayer — Its adaptation to all 
— Firm decision required — Experience of Lord Littleton 
— The two decisions — Sinful habits must be abandoned — 
Self-righteousness renounced — The Indian's explanation 
— Willingness to be saved as a sinner — Remark of a prince 
— How Jeremiah was rescued from the pit — False hopes 
must be renounced — An Indian's illustration — Persever- 
ance — Danger of despair — Snares of Satan — No cause for 
despair — The shipwreck — Concluding remarks. 

The learned and pious Pascal once said, 
that " there are but two sorts of persons who 
can properly be styled reasonable ; those 
who serve God with all their heart, because 
they know him ; and those who seek him 
with all their hearts, because as yet they 
know him not." I would fain hope that all 
my readers belong to one of these two class- 
es ; but the remarks I am about to make will 
be adapted principally to the latter class. 



318 the sinner's friend. 

In converting sinners, the Holy Spirit 
operates in different ways ; and probably no 
two persons were ever led into the kingdom 
of heaven by precisely the same steps. But 
there are certain things which ought to be 
attended to by all who would become Chris- 
tians. A proper understanding of them may 
save much needless trouble, and many mis- 
takes. I now propose, therefore, to lay down 
some twelve or fourteen directions, for the 
benefit of those who have a disposition to 
seek the Lord ; and I hope to explain and 
illustrate them in such a manner, that all 
may understand them. 

1. Place yourself under good influences. 
Withdraw, as much as possible, from the 
company of the worldly and trifling, and seek 
the society of the pious. Let Christians 
know, by your conduct, that you are willing 
to be conversed with on the subject of reli- 
gion, and prayed with. If you know one 
who is eminently faithful in rebuking sin, and 
warning the impenitent, do not shun his 
presence, as your natural heart may perhaps 
tempt you to do. Keep company with the 



THE SINNER SAVED. 319 

good, and you cannot fail to become better 
yourself. 

2. Use means. A residence in a hospital 
will not cure an individual, without the aid 
of any physician, or means of recovery. You 
should not only place yourself within the 
reach of good influences, but you must use all 
proper means to accomplish your end. If 
you are in the midst of a revival, seek to 
catch the dews of the Spirit upon your own 
heart, as they descend upon others. Spread 
your sail to secure the first heavenly breeze. 
Let the Bible, the prayer-meeting, the sanc- 
tuary, and all the ordinary and extraordinary 
means of grace, testify that you are seeking 
the converting influences of the Spirit. 

3. Think. " Now, therefore, thus saith the 
Lord of hosts, Consider your ways." Hag. 
1 : 5. For once, dismiss the world from your 
thoughts, and think seriously, deeply, unin- 
terruptedly, of the great truths of the gospel. 
Revolve in your mind that momentous ques-? 
tion, " What is a man profited, if he shall 
gain the whole world, and lose his own 
soul ? " Matt. 16 : 26. Think of your past 



320 the sinner's friend. 

life, — of your future hopes. "Let us search 
and try our ways, and turn again to the 
Lord." Lam. 3 : 40. This is the way Da- 
vid did, before his conversion. "I thought 
on my ways," he says, "and turned my feet 
unto thy testimonies." Ps. 119: 59. This 
is the way the prodigal did, before his return 
to his father. He first " came to himself," 
and thought how foolish he was to starve 
among the swine, when in his father's house 
there was bread in abundance. And the 
result of his thinking was, that he resolved to 
return home. So the sinner must " come to 
himself," before he can come to Christ ; and 
think of his sins, before he thinks of pardon. 
True, it is a difficult work. Men had rather 
think of any thing else than of their sins, — 
rather do any thing else, than look directly 
into the secret depths of the heart, while the 
" candle of the Lord " reveals the dark mys- 
teries there concealed. But this must be 
done, before we can reasonably hope that 
they have passed from death to life. I there- 
fore entreat the reader, if he has one serious 
thought concerning his soul, to cherish it, 



THE SINNER SAVED. 321 

and endeavor, by meditation and retirement, 
to fan it into being, till it shall take possession 
of his heart, and change the whole current of 
his thoughts. 

4. Endeavor to realize that you are lost. 
A brother of the Rev. George Whitefield, 
after living sometime in a backsliding and 
careless state, was roused to a perception of 
his danger, but shortly after sank into melan- 
choly and despondency. He one afternoon 
drank tea with the Countess of Huntingdon, 
who endeavored to raise his hopes by con- 
versing on the infinite mercy of God, through 
Jesus Christ. For a while it was all in vain. 
"My lady," he replied, "I know what you 
say is true. The mercy of God is infinite ; 
I see it clearly. But ah, there is no mercy 
for me. I am a wretch, entirely lost." "I 
am glad to hear it, Mr. Whitefield," said 
Lady H., "I am glad at my heart that you 
are a lost man." He looked with surprise. 
"What! glad! glad at your heart that I am 
a lost man ? " " Yes, Mr. W., truly glad ; 
for Jesus Christ came into the world to save 
the lost." This unexpected reply produced 
27 



322 the sinner's friend. 



a happy effect upon the desponding man. 
" Glory to God for that word ! " he exclaimed. 
" O, what unusual power is this which I feel 
attending it ! Jesus Christ came to save the 
lost ! Then I have a ray of hope." This 
individual felt that he was lost, and confessed 
it; and reduced to this extremity, he was 
glad to fly to him who alone can save the 
lost, and who will save none but the lost. 
What a happy thing it would be, were all 
who are alienated from God to confess with 
sorrow that they are poor, and sinful, and 
lost. God says, "Only acknowledge thine 
iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against 
the Lord thy God." Jer. 3 : 13. But how 
few will do it ! Pride, that bane of the soul, 
will not permit many to own that they are 
guilty, and ready to perish. They will con- 
ceal the truth, if possible, though it proves 
their ruin. 

If the reader follows faithfully the previous 
direction, and thinks on his ways, he will 
doubtless be constrained to admit that he is 
a lost sinner; and if brought to this point, 
there is some hope that he will not be lost. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 323 

A few years ago, on a cold winter's night, a 
boy was overtaken by a dreadful storm, and 
the snow fell so thick, and drifted in such a 
manner, that he missed his way, and wan- 
dered about for several hours, nearly perished 
with cold. At midnight, some one in the 
neighborhood heard a sound, and on opening 
a window, distinguished a human voice at a 
great distance, pronouncing, in a piteous tone, 
" Lost ! lost ! lost ! " Humanity induced him 
to send out in quest of the person from whom 
the voice proceeded, when, after a long 
search, the boy was found, nearly benumbed 
with cold. Happy was it for him that he 
knew his danger, that he cried for help, and 
that his cry was heard ! And happy is it for 
the sinner, when, sensible of his danger, and 
despairing of every other hope, he throws 
himself at the foot of the cross, and cries, 
" Lost ! lost ! lost ! " The Saviour will not 
reject such a plea as this. 

5. Maintain secret prayer. It is impossi- 
ble to be in a state, in this world, in which it 
is not suitble and necessary to pray. But 
there is not a time in which prayer is more 



324 the sinner's friend. 

appropriate, than when the sinner is seeking 
forgiveness. Then, if ever, he should pray 
earnestly and unceasingly. The contrite 
confession of the prodigal, " Father, I have 
sinned against heaven and in thy sight," and 
the all-prevailing prayer of the publican, 
" God be merciful to me a sinner," should 
be on his lips, and in his heart, from morning 
till night, until he feels that he is heard and 
answered. The voice of prayer ascends to 
heaven, as through a speaking-tube. Those 
around us may hear nothing of it ; but there 
is an ear at the other end, ever listening to 
hear our cries. " If we confess our sins, he 
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and 
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
1 John i: 9. 

If your convictions of sin are not deep and 
pungent, go to God with the prayer, " Cause 
me to understand wherein I have erred." 
Job 6 : 24. If already bowed down with a 
sense of your guilt, then " take with you 
words, and turn to the Lord ; say unto him, 
Take away all iniquity, and receive us gra- 
ciously." Hos. 14: 2. And if you have 



THE SINNER SAVED. 325 

such a view of sin as overwhelms you with 
fear and grief, then cry to God, as did the 
psalmist, " Save me, O God, for the waters 
are come in unto my soul." Ps. 69: 1. Thus, 
whatever be the state of your mind, let 
prayer form a part of your daily life ; and 
make it an indispensable part, too. It will 
bring down rich blessings upon you, through 
the intercessions of Christ. 

" It gives the burdened spirit ease, 
And soothes the troubled breast ; 
Yields comfort to the mourners here, 
And to the weary rest." 

6. Determine to do your duty now. And 
what is your duty ? Simply to repent, and 
believe in Christ. You must, then, come to 
a firm and final decision. It is difficult to do 
this ; for Satan strives hard to tempt the 
sinner to vacillate and evade, that he may 
gain time to strengthen his temptations. Be- 
ware of this. Meet the question manfully, 
and at once, and if you think your soul is 
worth saving, resolve that its salvation shall 
be secured now. The younger Lord Little- 
27* 



326 the sinner's friend. 



ton, in early life, was the subject of deep 
impressions, under the influence of which he 
one day retired to his chamber to pray. As 
he was about kneeling, he thought he would 
turn aside and close the shutter. In doing 
this, a band of musicians caught his eye, and 
the splendor of their appearance, and their 
inspiring notes, so captivated him, that he 
rushed from his chamber into the crowd. 
But this weak indecision cost him an immense 
price. His seriousness was at once banished, 
and he felt the strivings of the Spirit no more. 

There are also certain minor duties, the 
performance of which may require much 
decision. A great deal depends on these. 
Two individuals, of about the same age, and 
in similar circumstances, left the house of 
God one evening, under deep conviction of 
sin. They had reached that point, when 
their weal or wo for eternity seemed to de- 
pend on the decisions of an hour. The 
pastor had invited the inquiring to meet him 
after the services, in the lecture room, for 
conversation and prayer. Thirty or forty 
accepted the invitation, and these two indi 



THE SINNER SAVED. 327 

viduals felt a strong inclination to be among 
the number. But they had never entered a 
meeting of inquiry ; and to go there as 
wretched, miserable sinners, asking after the 
way of life, was deeply humiliating. They 
walked together to the door, and paused, and 
then turned toward their homes. But their 
feelings were too strong to allow them to 
proceed far. They returned to the door of 
the vestry, and looked in upon the solemn 
meeting. Again they started for their homes ; 
and again they were listening to the voice of 
prayer, and the directions which the minister 
was giving to the anxious before him. At 
length one of them resolved that he would 
go in and take the attitude of an inquirer. 
The other turned and went his way. The 
one who entered, dated his conversion from 
that very hour, and ever after lived a consist- 
ent, devoted life. The one who turned away 
at that moment grieved the Spirit of God 
from his heart, as a life of thoughtlessness 
and sin afterwards testified. What a differ- 
ence did the decisions of that moment make 
in the character and prospects of those two 



328 the sinner's friend. 



individuals ! Who can tell what a difference 
they may have made in their eternal desti- 
nies ! 

7. Abandon all known sin. Were an 
intemperate, dissipated spendthrift, who was 
suffering disease in consequence of his vicious 
courses, to put himself under the care of a 
physician, he would at once be directed, 
most imperatively, to abstain from every 
indulgence of the ruinous vice. Precisely 
the same direction must be given to the 
inquirer. " Some sinners," said Dr. Nevins, 
" repent with an unbroken heart. They are 
sorry, and yet go on, as did Pilate and 
Herod." But those who truly repent, will 
naturally hate their sins, and desire to be 
delivered from them. They will therefore 
abandon them. 

8. Give up all self-righteousness. This is 
a garment which true Christians never wear ; 
and the sooner the sinner gives it up, the 
sooner brighten his prospects of becoming a 
follower of Christ. " How is it that I should 
be so long under conviction, when you found 
comfort so soon ? " was a question once put 



THE SINNER SAVED. 329 

by a white man to an Indian, both of whom 
had been awakened by the same sermon. 
" O brother," replied the simple Indian, " me 
tell you. There come along a rich prince ; 
he promise to give you a new coat ; you look 
at your coat, and say, C I don't know, my 
coat pretty good, I believe it will do a little 
longer. 5 He then give me new coat. I look 
on my old blanket ; I say, 6 This good for 
nothing.' I fling it right away, and take my 
new coat. Just so, brother, you try to make 
your old righteousness do for sometime, — you 
loth to give it up. But I, poor Indian, had 
none ; therefore I glad to receive at once the 
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ." 
The Indian was right. Self-righteousness is 
often in the way of the convicted sinner. 

9. Be willing to be siaved as a sinner. 
Self-will, — of which Cecil said, that it "is so 
ardent and active, it will break a world in 
pieces to make a stool to sit on," — is often 
in the way of the sinner's conversion ; and a 
dangerous stumbling-block it is. He cannot 
consent to be saved as a lost and miserable 
sinner, through faith in Christ. He thinks 



330 the sinner's friend. 



his own way superior to God's way. This 
feeling is the offspring of pride, self-will and 
ignorance, and must be conquered, or all is lost. 
When the late Duke of Kent, — whose daugh- 
ter is now on the throne of Great Britain, — 
was on his death-bed, he expressed some con- 
cern about his soul. His physician endeavored 
to soothe his mind by referring to his high 
respectability, and his honorable conduct in 
the distinguished situation in which Provi- 
dence had placed him. But he was quickly 
stopped by the dying man, who reproved him 
by saying, " No, remember that if I am 
saved, it is not as a prince, but as a sinner." 

How unreasonable is it for one who hangs 
entirely upon the mercy of God, to complain 
of the means he uses in delivering the helpless 
sinner from eternal death. When Jeremiah 
was drawn out from his filthy dungeon, he did 
not object to the " clouts " and " rotten rags " 
that were used, but obeyed, and said nothing. 
Jer. 38: 10 — 13. A prouder and less wise 
man would have objected to being drawn up in 
such a humiliating way, and perhaps would 
have considered the suggestion an insult. He 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



331 



would have preferred that some ingenious ma- 
chinery be employed, or some great spectacle 
made. The sinner, too, often thinks that 
" some great thing " will be done for him, and 
spurns the humbling and simple directions of 
the man of God. Naaman well nigh lost his 
cure by a similar pride. But I would not convey 
the impression that the way of salvation is too 
strict, or humiliating, or simple. Though it 
often appears so to the sinner, yet when he is 
drawn up from the pit, he admires the wisdom 
of God in providing such a way, and loves 
and serves him better than if he had been 
saved by some great display of power. 

10. Give up every other hope. As long 
as you entertain a hope that you can in some 
other way escape eternal death, you have one 
foot in the snare of Satan, and are therefore 
exposed to great peril. But renounce every 
earthly hope, and feel as Peter did, when, 
sinking beneath the wave, he exclaimed, 
" Lord, save me ! " — do this, and an almighty 
arm will interpose in your behalf. There is 
much truth in the old adage, " Man's extrem- 
ity is God's opportunity." Perhaps I cannot 



332 the sinner's friend. 



better illustrate this, than by an anecdote I 
have read of a converted Indian, who was 
asked to describe the process of conversion. 
Kneeling upon the sand, he made a small 
circle of chips and dry leaves. He then 
placed a little worm inside of the ring, and 
with a spark from his pipe lighted the pile. 
The worm, when it began to feel the heat, 
crept first to one point, then to another ; and 
at last, after many ineffectual attempts to get 
out, crawled to the centre, as if in despair, 
and coiled itself up, awaiting the result. 
When it began to feel the heat too sensibly, 
the Indian took it in his fingers, and placed it 
without the ring in safety. " Now," said he, 
" I will explain my meaning. I was like that 
poor worm ; the fires of hell were burning 
around me ; they began to reach me ; I ran 
every way, I drank fire-water, I tried hunting, 
every thing ; but I could not get out. At 
last I threw myself down, and tried to pray, 
and then God stretched forth his hand, and 
lifting me forth, gave me rest. Now," he 
continued, « I cannot explain it any better. 
I cannot tell you how it was done, but I felt 
a change, and I knew it was so." 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



333 



11. Persevere. Saul, when he could ob- 
tain no answer from God., instead of humbling 
himself, confessing his sin, and persevering in 
his efforts, went at once to a witch, and thus 
sealed his doom. 1 Sam. 28 : 6, 7. So sin- 
ners sometimes, after seeing in some measure 
their sinfulness, apply to God for deliverance ; 
and not instantly receiving peace of mind, 
they turn their backs upon their Maker, and 
seek comfort from Satan's children. Truly 
the last state of such is worse than the first. 

12. Do not yield to despair. When every 
other experiment fails, Satan sometimes resorts 
to this ; and some, whom he could not move to 
presumption, he causes to yield to despair. If 
he cannot make them feel that they are good 
enough to go to heaven as they are, he 
endeavors to convince them that they are so 
desperately wicked as to be beyond the reach 
of mercy. " Others may hope for mercy," 
he whispers in their ear, " but you are too far 
gone. Your day of grace is over. You have 
grieved the Spirit. It is evident that you are 
not among God's elect." How many souls 
has he ruined in this way ! Reader, beware 
of a similar fate. Do not give up the hope of 

28 



334 the sinner's friend. 

being converted. Had the prodigal yielded 
to despair (and how strongly was he tempted 
to do it !) he would never have been welcomed 
to the affectionate embrace of his father's 
arms. Do not let the adversary cheat you 
into the belief that the decrees of God, and 
even the Holy Spirit, are against you. You 
are not a machine, but a free moral agent. If 
you are saved, it will be because you believed, 
and not simply because you were elected; 
and if you are lost, it will be because you 
voluntarily rejected the Saviour, and not sim- 
ply because you were not elected. Do you 
say that God has decreed the eternal misery 
of a part of the race, and therefore you find 
no encouragement to come ? Where do you 
find that decree ? Not in the Bible, surely. 
I there find a glorious decree, — a decree that 
inspires hope and faith ; and it is this, that a 
large portion of the race shall be saved from 
death. This is enough. There is no need 
of a decree that any shall be lost, for every 
impenitent sinner is lost and condemned 
already, and it is only forbearing mercy that 
stays the arm of Justice for the present. And 
as to the Spirit, so far from its being against 



THE SINNER SAVED. 335 



you, its aid is promised to all who ask for it. 
— There is, then, no reason why you should 
despair. True, your difficulties are many ; 
but only be honest and sincere, and God will 
enable you to overcome them all. " Seek the 
Lord, and ye shall live." Amos 5 : 6. The 
path to heaven is narrow, but not too narrow 
for those who wish to pursue a straight and 
steady course. It is strait and difficult, but 
yet capable of being pursued by the weakest 
mortal, who will seek aid from on high. 

Again I say, do not yield to despair. The 
loss of hope is the loss of all. How affect- 
ingly has this truth been illustrated ! A 
violent storm once drove a ship upon a dan- 
gerous coast. As the peril was every moment 
increasing, a passenger, who had given up all 
hopes of being saved, retired to his cabin, and 
resigned himself to a watery grave. The rest 
remained on deck. In a moment, an unex- 
pected surge, with an immense swell of the 
sea, carried the ship over the reef of rocks, 
and left her, as the sea retired, upon a sand- 
bank. Instantly the captain and crew jumped 
upon the sand, and before the return of 
another wave, got upon an eminence, and 



336 the sinner's friend. 



thus providentially escaped death. The waves 
soon beat the ship to pieces, but that one 
passenger was the only person lost. Had he 
been watching, instead of despairing, his life 
would have been saved. So the sinner must 
believe that he can be saved, and hope for 
salvation, or he will certainly lose his soul. 

I have thus endeavored to point the inquirer 
to him who taketh away the sin of the world. 
I have brought but one message for all classes, 
and this, I trust, has been delivered faithfully. 
All are wasting away under the same disease, 
and all must be healed by the same remedy. 
What I have written may fall into the hands 
of many in highly favored New England, 
whose houses are within sight of church 
steeples, and who hear the music of the Sab- 
bath bell throughout the year. To these I 
have but one direction, — Repent, believe in 
Christ. And as the Society for whose use 
this book was written are engaged in the good 
work of scattering Sabbath school libraries in 
the West, I may, perhaps, address some of the 
youth of that portion of our land. To them 
I would deliver the same message, — Repent, 
believe in Christ. This is our only hope. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



337 



CHAPTER V. 

SIN SUBDUED, AND THE CURSE REMOVED. 

Change produced by conversion — Something more to be 
done — A contrast between the effects of sin and piety — 
The heart must be kept right — The thoughts and affections 
controlled — Sinful habits abandoned — The tongue guarded 
— Temptation avoided — Good companions selected — The 
Christian must not trifle with sin — Sin should be feared — 
Familiarity with the Bible — Our destiny must not be for- 
gotten — Written rules and resolutions — Duty summed up — 
Difficulty of the work — Need of the Spirit — God 7 s ways of 
purifying his people — Encouragements — All will be well, 
after death. 

Conversion produces a great change in the 
sinner. Said Justin the martyr, who lived in 
the second century, — " We, who were once 
slaves of lust, now have our chief joy in a 
pious life. Once, we loved gain above every 
thing else ; now, we give our possessions for 
the common good, and distribute to every one 
who is needy. Once, we hated and murdered 
one another ; we would not receive into our 
houses people of foreign climes, because they 
had different customs from our own. Now, 
28* 



338 the sinner's friend. 

since the appearance of Christ, we permit 
them to be our guests. We pray for our 
enemies. We strive to convince those who 
hate us unjustly ; so that, living according to 
the glorious teaching of Christ, they may 
obtain the joyful hope of a participation in the 
blessings which are prepared for us by God 
Almighty." 

Such has ever been the result of genuine 
conversion. Sin receives a deadly blow, and 
Satan is forced from the soul's castle, by one 
stronger than he. A revolution takes place 
in the government of the little kingdom, and 
the rigorous tyranny of Satan gives place to 
the mild sway of Christ. But still there is 
much to be done. Though the prince of 
darkness is cast out, there yet may be rebels 
and traitors left behind, who are pledged to 
his cause. The breaches which sin has made 
in the soul are also to be repaired ; and the 
wilderness is to be cultivated. To drop the 
figure, bad and long-established habits are to 
be eradicated, and new ones formed. Even 
Socrates, the p?gan philosopher, could tell us, 
that " if the soul be immortal, it requires to 
be cultivated with attention, not only for what 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



339 



we call the time of life, but for that which is 
to follow, — I mean eternity ; and the least 
neglect in this respect may be attended with 
endless consequences." This is in harmony 
with the Bible. Christians are there taught 
that they must grow in grace, or advance in 
sanctification, after their conversion. The 
soul is to be cultivated. And the glorious 
and cheering truth is revealed, that the iron 
band of sin may be broken, and the dark 
cloud of evils, which once hung over the 
offender, be for ever dispersed. 

Let us stop a moment, and contemplate 
this truth. We have seen that sin deprives 
us of God's approbation. But conversion 
restores it. Sin provokes his wrath. But 
God is not angry with the Christian ; he 
brings no charge against him. Sin has 
exposed us to Satan. But Christ is Satan's 
invincible opponent, and will deliver all who 
trust in him. Sin awakened bitter remorse of 
conscience. But heavenly peace of mind is 
the inheritance of the pardoned soul. Sin 
made us fear and tremble. " But," says God, 
" whosoever hearkeneth unto me shall dwell 
safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." 



340 the sinner's friend. 

Prov. 1 : 33. Sin made us ashamed of our- 
selves. But in proportion as we crucify sin, 
this emotion disappears. Sin seared the con- 
science. But the Christian heeds the friendly 
monitor, and thus keeps it in a healthy state. 
Sin hardened the heart. But this is a process 
unknown to the righteous. Sin debases the 
mind. But religion purines it. Sin degrades 
its victim. But the child of God is raised to 
the highest honors heart could wish. Sin has 
brought into the world an immense amount of 
physical suffering. But religion, if it does 
not deliver us from this, makes it work for our 
good ; as Flavel says, " Trouble is a scorpion, 
and hath a deadly sting ; but Christ is a wise 
physician, and extracts a sovereign oil out of 
this scorpion, that heals the wound it makes." 
Sin is often followed by special judgments. 
But instead of these, the righteous receive 
special and peculiar blessings. Sin introduced 
death into the world. But the Christian 
finds the sting removed, and is enabled to 
conquer the last foe. Henceforth he is 
safe. This point past, sin can harm him no 
more. The judgment-day will be the great 
day of his acquittal and justification before the 



THE SINNER SAVED. 341 

universe ; and his eternal abode will be in 
that world where there is no sin nor sorrow. 
Thus, by faith in Christ, are all the evils of 
sin removed or counteracted, and eternal life 
secured. 

In this great work of subduing sin, each 
one of us must co-operate with the Holy 
Spirit, if we would be successful. Let us, 
then, look at some of the ways in which we 
may do this. 

1. The Christian should keep his heart. 
He has foes within, as well as without. The 
heart is the home of sin, and the seat of all 
iniquity ; and it must, after conversion, be the 
home of religion. It is said that among the 
heathen nations, when a beast was cut up for 
sacrifice, the first thing the priest examined 
was the heart ; and if that was not sound and 
healthy, the sacrifice was rejected. So God 
looks first at the heart of those who make 
themselves an offering to him ; and if that is 
wrong, the whole is rejected. It is necessary, 
therefore, that the heart be kept right toward 
God. We must watch it with a jealous eye, 
and examine it closely. " Blessed are the 
pure in heart/' Matt. 5 : 8. 



342 the sinner's friend. 

2. Control your thoughts. If you would 
subdue your sinful propensities, you must not 
only watch your hearts, but control your 
thoughts. " Let the wicked forsake his way, 
and the unrighteous man his thoughts" Is. 
55 : 7. " The thoughts of the wicked are 
an abomination to the Lord." Prov. 15 : 26. 
Our Saviour, in giving a list of the polluting 
and abominable progeny of the natural heart, 
places " evil thoughts " at the head of the 
catalogue. Mark 7: 21. Here, then, is a 
point at which we must direct our most earn- 
est and assiduous labors. The mind must be 
restricted and controlled, and the thoughts 
led to linger about those things only which 
are pure, and holy, and of good report. 

3. Control the affections. If we would 
grow in grace, we must not suffer our affec- 
tions to fasten upon unworthy and forbidden 
objects. Neither must they too strongly 
entwine around those objects which are good 
in their place. God demands our supreme 
affection ; and we cannot divide our hearts 
between him and the world. 

4. Break off sinful habits. After conver- 
sion, there are always some sins that lurk 



THE SINNER SAVED. 343 

unseen in the heart. The evil spirits are 
never wholly cast out, till death closes the 
conflict in victory. These remaining sins are 
like the remnants of the Canaanites, whom 
the children of Israel, contrary to the com- 
mand of God, permitted to dwell in the holy 
land. They were scourges and afflictions to 
Israel. So if you do not make unceasing war 
against these stragglers, and drive them from 
you, "they shall be snares and traps unto 
you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in 
your eyes." Josh. 23: 13. 

5. Guard the tongue. It was said of the 
Rev. Richard Flavel, that his friends " never 
heard one vain word drop from his mouth." 
This noble tribute can be applied to but few 
others. The apostle James tells us, that if a 
man can bridle his tongue, he can govern his 
whole body. But generally, the tongue is 
the occasion of much sin, and a great hin- 
drance to growth in grace. 

6. Avoid temptation. No one is proof 
against temptation, and therefore a wise man 
will avoid it. Our hearts are like inflamma- 
ble matter, which needs but a spark to set it 
on fire. The man who has powder about his 



344 the sinner's friend. 



person, would not think it safe to handle fire. 
The half-reformed drunkard would not ven- 
ture into a dram-shop, where the fumes of 
liquor and the sight of the bar-room furniture 
would at once arouse his yet unconquered 
appetite. Let us remember that we, even if 
Christians, are as yet but half reformed from 
our sinful habits, and must therefore avoid the 
haunts of sin and the lurking-places of evil. 
Nor must we forget that our own hearts may 
require but a spark to break forth into a blaze 
which it will require many tears of penitence 
to quench. 

7. Avoid bad, and seek good company. 
Sinners are said to be " dead in trespasses and 
sin." This is especially true of notoriously 
hardened sinners ; and we should avoid com- 
ing in contact with such. The Jews of old 
were polluted if they touched a dead body. 
The slightest quantity of blood, from a body 
in which the process of decay has commenced, 
coming in contact with a mere scratch upon 
one's finger, is sufficient to produce speedy 
death. Analogous to this is the deadly influ- 
ence of those who are spiritually dead. Con- 
tact with such will introduce poison into your 



THE SINNER SAVED. 345 

soul, unless you sedulously guard against it. 
You must not only avoid sin, but shun all 
companions who would lead you into it, 
either by example or persuasion. Good men 
are often punished for being found in bad 
company. The Lord was offended with Je- 
hoshaphat for associating with the impious 
Ahab. 2 Chr. 19: 2. " One sinner destroy- 
ed much good." Eccl. 9: 18. " Corrupt 
company," said Lord Burleigh, "is more 
infectious than corrupt air." Remember, 
your neighbor, and even your bitterest enemy, 
can do you no greater injury than to lead you 
into sin. Select your companions from among 
the wise and good, and court those influences 
which tend to ennoble and purify the soul. 
" Tell me," says the Spanish proverb, " who 
are his friends, and I will tell you what he is." 

8. Allow no trifling with sin. A wanton 
look of David, unsuppressed, in a few days 
resulted in murder. A weak fear of man in 
Peter, soon led to a profane denial of his 
Lord. How careful should we be, not to 
indulge even the thought of evil ! And 
especially, how careful to avoid what are 
often termed little sins ! It is by these that 
29 



346 the sinner's friend. 

the conscience is hardened, and prepared 
for worse deeds. Says Bishop Hopkins, 
" There is no surer way to know whether 
our consciences are dead and stupid, than to 
observe what impressions small sins make 
upon them; and if we are not careful to 
avoid all appearance of evil, if we are not so 
much troubled at the vanity of our thoughts 
and words as we have been formerly, we 
may conclude that our hearts are hardened, 
our consciences are stupified ; for a tender 
conscience will no more allow of small sins 
than of great sins." 

9. Cultivate a fear of sin. When the 
Empress Eudoxia sent to Chrysostom, an an- 
cient Christian writer, a threatening message, 
he said to the messenger, " Go, tell her I fear 
nothing but sin ! " On another occasion, 
when threatened with danger, he said, " I 
am ready to shed my blood, if I can only 
prevent sin." Colonel Gardiner, on receiving 
a challenge to fio;ht a duel, returned for 
answer, " that though he was not afraid to 
fight, yet he was afraid to sin." " I am more 
afraid of doing wrong than of dying," said 
Baxter, when persecuted. These are the 



THE SINNER, SAVED. 347 

Christians that grow in grace. These are 
the true heroes of the world,— men who fear 
nothing but to displease God. Would that 
their spirit were more widely diffused. 

10. Be familiar with the Bible. I do not 
mean that you should read a chapter or two 
every day, or read the Bible through in course 
every year, or even commit it to memory. 
This is well, but there is something better. 
Have a Bible in your heart. When David s 
described the righteous man, he said, " The 
law of his God is in his heart;" and he 
therefore could add, "none of his steps shall 
slide." Ps. 37: 31. God's commandment 
to his ancient people was, "'And these words, 
which I command thee this day, shall be in 
thine heart" Deut. 6 : 6. The Bible will 
be of little advantage to us, unless we fix its 
precepts in the heart. The Jews bound the 
commands of God upon their foreheads and 
arms, on strips of parchment, and wrote them 
on their door-posts and gates ; yea, they made 
long prayers, and fasted oft, and gave alms ; 
but they did not write the law in their 
hearts, and their religion was vain and empty. 

11. We should never forget our destiny. 



348 the sinner's friend. 

We are soon to die ; and this thought should 
urge us to throw off the shackles of sin. 
" The great hindrance to well living/' says 
one, " is the expectation of living long." Let 
us then be more solicitous to live well than to 
live long. We are soon to enter upon the 
joys of heaven, if faithful ; and this thought, 
also, should quicken us on. On one of the 
cells of the famous Tower of London, may 
be found the inscription, " He that endureth 
to the end shall be saved ; " and on another, 
" Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee 
a crown of life." These words, engraved on 
the prison walls, probably by innocent victims 
of man's malignity, might well comfort and 
sustain them, and nerve their courage to 
endure for Christ's sake. So should we ever 
keep them before us, that we may remember 
that we are on our way to a glorious world. 

4 ' For ever with the Lord ! 

Amen ; so let it be ; 
Life from the dead is in that word, — 

'Tis immortality. 
Here in the body pent, 

Absent from him I roam ; 
Yet nightly pitch my moving tent 

A day's march nearer home." 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



349 



Many Christians have found it of great 
advantage to write and adopt a set of rules or 
resolutions, to guide them in the path of duty. 
The following cannot fail to benefit those 
readers, who sincerely strive to grow in grace. 
Such must know that one of their greatest 
dangers is, forgetting, in the bustle of life, the 
pure precepts which should be their guide, 
and yielding to the influence of a worldly 
spirit. Take these rules, then, copy them 
upon paper, and, if possible, read them over 
at the close of each day ; and as you read 
each, put the question to yourself, " Have I 
remembered this to-day ? " 

1. I must read the Bible, with a sincere 
desire to profit by it. 

2. I must be faithful and sincere in my 
secret devotions. 

3. I must strive to subdue every besetting 
sin. 

4. I must do nothing I should be afraid to 
do, were it the last day of my life. 

5. I must often think of death, and re- 
member that the summons may come at any 
moment. 

6. I must do all the good possible. 

29* 



350 the sinner's friend. 



7. I must speak nothing but the truth, and 
speak evil of no one, unless for some good. 

8. I must do nothing out of revenge. 

9. I must avoid anger, and an unkind 
disposition. 

10. I must suffer no pride. 

11. I must improve my time. 

12. I must see that in every action my 
example is such as not to injure others, but 
benefit them, if they imitate it. 

These twelve rules, I presume, embrace 
the whole duty of man, so far as practice is 
concerned ; of his faith I have already spoken. 

But after we have done all, the grace of 
God must complete the work, or our labor is 
in vain. I have sometimes thought that it 
would be an easy thing to be a consistent 
pagan, were I surrounded by a pagan at- 
mosphere ; or a faithful Mohammedan, did I 
reside in Turkey; or even a good Roman 
Catholic, were Italy or Austria my home. 
It would be easy to make offerings, and visit 
mosques and cathedrals, and kneel at the call 
of the priest, to repeat a prayer, and keep 
fasts, and make pilgrimages, and afflict the 
body ; all this can be done without the 



« THE SINNER SAVED. 351 

assistance of God. But 0, how difficult it is 
to be a good Christian, — to grow in grace 
from day to day ! How difficult to subdue 
all " the rebel hosts of the heart/ 5 and unite 
them in the service of God ! This is indeed 
rowing against wind and tide. The grace of 
God alone can enable us to do it. 

" 0, what a struggle wakes within, 

When, in the spirit's solitude, 
The tempting, treacherous thoughts of sin, 

In all their luring smiles intrude ! 
'Tis then, my Father ! then I feel 

My nature's weakness ; and, oppressed, 
Like a poor trembling child I steal 

To thee, for safety and for rest." 

These beautiful sentiments of Bowring will 
receive the approbation of every Christian. 
The need of restraining and sanctifying grace 
is felt by all such. The remark of John 
Newton, when he saw one led to the gallows, 
" There goes John Newton, but for the grace 
of God," was an acknowledgement of this 
truth. So every converted sinner feels that 
wherein he differs from others, it is by the 
grace of God; and he knows that if he is 
ever saved, it will be by that same grace. 



352 



THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



We are taught in the Bible that God 

purines his people from sin. He frequently 
does this in the fiery furnace of affliction ; but 
they come out of it as the pure gold. This 
caused Flavel to exclaim, in his peculiar way, 
" O, how many have been wheeled to hell in 
the chariot of earthly pleasures, while others 
have been whipped to heaven by the rod of 
affliction ! " God sometimes shows them the 
deep depravity of their hearts, and causes 
them to mourn over their state. But, as the 
dews refresh the earth in the night, so the 
Christian receives the richest consolations of 
the Spirit in seasons of sorrow for sin, when 
all around is darkness. This is God's method 
to purify him ; and he can say, with Job, 
" When he hath tried me, I shall come forth 
as gold." Job -23 : 18. If he has faith to lay 
hold on the promises, and look to Christ for 
strength, none of these things shall move him. 

There is, then, no reason why we should 
yield to discouragements, if we do our duty. 
God is on our side, and the victory over sin 
is certain. Piety is a plant of celestial 
growth, and the great Cultivator will watch 
over and nurture it. 



THE SINNER SAVED. 



353 



" To root it out, and wither it from earth, 
Hell strives with all its strength, and blows with all 
Its blasts ; and sin, with cold, consumptive breath, 
Involves it still in clouds of mortal damp ; 
Yet does it grow^thus kept, protected thus, 
And bear the only fruit of true delight, 
The only fruit worth plucking under heaven." 

True, we may sometimes fall into error, and 
lose ground once gained ; but let us still 
persevere. Says a distinguished English 
writer, in a recent letter to a young man, 
" There is precious instruction to be got in 
knowing that we are wrong. Let a man try 
faithfully, manfully, to be right, and he will 
grow daily more and more right. It is, at 
bottom, the condition on which all men have 
to cultivate themselves. Our very walking 
is an incessant falling, — a falling and a 
catching of ourselves before we come actually 
to the pavement. It is emblematic of all a 
man does." But while you persevere in 
your efforts, ever depend for success on the 
almighty arm. Never forget that God is 
with you, beholding the struggle. It is said 
that the celebrated Linnaeus was so much 
impressed with this thought, that he wrote 
over the door of his library, — " Live inno- 



354 the sinner's friend. 

cently, — God is present." Let it be your 
motto, also. 

" I know that it will be well with me," 
were the dying words of Flavel. Doubtless, 
it is well with every Christian, after death. 
At the moment when he is released from the 
frail tabernacle of clay, he is also released 
from all sin, and thus triumphs over his great 
adversary. Now his foe is subdued, his 
contest ended, his victory won. Henceforth, 
the bitter curse of sin, which has been the 
subject of our thoughts, can reach his soul 
no more. All is forgiven, through the blood 
of Christ. Well may we exclaim, " Blessed 
is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose 
sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto 
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in 
whose spirit there is no guile." Ps. 32 : 42. 



THE 



SINNER SAVED. 



355 



CHAPTER VI. 

CONCLUSION. 

The reward of piety — A scene jn heaven — An exhortation to 
come to Christ — Danger of delay — Youth the best time — 
A word to the unconverted—A petition in behalf of the 
reader. 

I have endeavored, in my feeble way, to 
point out to my readers the punishment of 
sin, in this world and the world to come. And 
though, myself a sinner, I can but stammer 
about these solemn truths, yet I trust enough 
has been said to convince all that it is a terrible 
thing to transgress the law of God. Come 
with me now, and gaze upon another scene. 
Behold the reward of him who has come in 
deep penitence to the cross of Christ, and 
received salvation. Take your stand in the 
bright world of glory, where .no sin is known, 
and no evil ever felt. Around you, in the 
distance, you behold worlds, and systems, 
and countless myriads of heavenly bodies, of 
every magnitude and degree of lustre, all 



356 the sinner's friend. 

sweetly and harmoniously revolving about 
this grand central point. In all the music of 
the spheres, not a note of discord is heard. 
Before you is the burning throne of Jehovah, 
radiant with unapproachable glory ; and the 
King of kings himself is in the midst of the 
golden city, imparting his own bliss, and 
glory, and excellence, to every being around 
him. An innumerable company of angels 
and archangels, of seraphim and cherubim, 
surround you on every hand, mingling the 
melodies of their harps and songs, and casting 
their crowns before their Lord. Celestial 
breezes fan you, and above, beneath, on 
every side, each object that meets your eye 
awakes delight. No sepulchres, no mon- 
uments sacred to the departed, no sickness, 
no pain are found throughout that wide 
realm. You behold the last tears of those 
who have passed through sorrow and tribula- 
tion wiped away, and their countenances, 
now burning with glory, you are told will 
never more be clouded by care and sorrow. 
Christ is there, — the Saviour of sinners, the 
Redeemer of the lost ! O, is not this bliss 
too deep and too great for mortal to look 



THE SINNER SAVED. 357 

upon ? And yet, youthful reader, this is your * 
reward, — your everlasting reward, — if you 
now repent of your sins, and believe in 
Christ. 

Come, then, and behold the Saviour of the 
lost. Come now. You feel that you are 
under a curse which you can never remove. 
Come to him who alone can remove it. 
Contemplate the immense sacrifice that has 
been made, and resolve that inasmuch as 
Christ has done so much for you, you will 
now do something for yourself, and for him. 
Do not stand at that cold distance, and look 
on the thrilling scene of Calvary like an idle 
spectator. Come near, where you can 
behold the dying victim; where you can 
witness his tears of mingled sorrow and pity ; 
where you can catch the deep groan that is 
forced from his soul ; where you can see his 
bosom throb with anguish. Come, sinner, 
and see if there be any sorrow like unto his 
sorrow. Come near, and hear the prayer 
that is breathed from his lips in behalf of his 
murderers; come, and witness the dying 
struggle. You have an interest in this solemn 
scene. It is your Saviour, — the innocent 
30 



358 the sinner's friend. 



victim of sin's malignity. This is the Lamb 
of God, who was wounded and bruised for 
your iniquities. This is the only blood that 
can wash away your sins. Tell me, can you 
not love him who first loved you ? Will you 
not serve him who once condescended to 
serve you? Will you not honor him who 
died to save you from everlasting shame and 
contempt ? 

But I must again urge you to attend to 
this matter now. I know it is peculiarly the 
danger of the young to put off this subject, 
when an appeal is made to them. Are 
any of my readers now doing this ? Let 
me warn you, that if you do this once, you 
will be led to do it again, and then again, 
and still again. The " convenient season " 
is never now, but always to-morrow, or next 
month, or next year. And will you postpone 
this duty to old age ? Supposing you were 
sure of attaining to sixty, or eighty, or a 
hundred years, would you defer making your 
peace with God till the chills of age are 
upon you ? Would you wait till your eye is 
dim, and you can no longer read the message 
of salvation ? Would you wait till your ear 



THE SINNER SAVED. 359 

is dull, and you can no longer hear the 
preacher God has sent? Would you wait 
till your mind has become weak and super- 
annuated, and all its faculties gone into 
decay ? Say, would you wait till your heart 
has become hardened like the nether mill- 
stone, and your conscience cauterized as with 
a hot iron ? Then delay not another day. 
Delay not the one thing needful to old age, 
nor to the bed of death. Childhood is the 
season to reform. Youth is the time to 
remember your Creator. 

The devoted Baxter wrote a book, enti- 
tled, " Fifty reasons why a sinner ought to 
return to God without delay." Were all 
these arguments made to bear upon your 
heart, and as many more, it would not ex- 
haust the motives of appeal. But after all, I 
fear there are some, upon whom every appeal 
and argument would fall as powerless as a 
sunbeam upon a desolate rock ; or, if any 
impression be made, it would be as evanes- 
cent as the foam upon the water, or the dew 
upon the grass. If such there be, I must 
remind them that it will not always be thus. 
You must be moved by these things, sooner 



360 the sinner's friend. 



or later; and moved deeply, too. They 
will, one day, gain admittance into your 
mind. O, that you may consider them while 
there is hope and mercy ! 

But if there are any who have determined 
to do their duty now (O, that there may be 
many such !) it is my earnest prayer that 
God would look in mercy upon them, and 
strengthen their good resolution, and enable 
them to persevere. May the Spirit be poured 
upon them. May the good Shepherd pity 
them, and stretch out his arms to receive 
them, 

"And gently, kindly lead them through 
Life's varied scenes of joy and gloom, 
Till evening's pale and pearly dew 

Tips the green sod that decks their tomb." 

And, finally, may they be delivered for ever 
from the curse of sin, and experience all 
the joy and bliss of the sinner saved. 



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A SYSTEM OF 



life eternal"* And St. Paul declares that Christ 6 
brought life and immortality to light through the gospe 
9. These, and other passages of scripture, too num 
to quote on this occasion, place the doctrine of immoi 
upon the firmest footing. Indeed the whole system of 
iation is based upon this important and fundamental prin 

1. From this general description of the compositi 
human beings, we will proceed to a more particular aru 
of their mental operations. 

2. The soul isolated from every thing in the universe y 
possess nothing but a consciousness of existence. Ir. 
condition it would acquire no knowledge, exercise no 
lion, nor perform any action. But connected with the 
it becomes acquainted with material things ; and these tl 
operating upon its natural susceptibilities, produce all 
animal, moral, and intellectual phenomena which ar 
hibited in the life of man. 

3. Writers on mental philosophy have generally asc 
to the human mind a variety of faculties ; but after tfc 
verest scrutiny, it seems to us that those phenomena, te 
faculties, are rather actions than separate powers, 
mind, in our view, is one and indivisible ; and those c 
lions which have been denominated faculties, are on] 
same energy, excited to different actions, by various Co 

4. But although the mind is a simple and indivisible 
stance, it is capable, from its numerous susceptibility 
performing a variety of operations. These, for the sa 

9. Are there any other authorities to prove this point? 

1. What next do we proceed to ? 

2. How does the soul become acquainted with material things? 

3. Does the soul possess a variety of faculties? 



